Untitled
by Chauncey Chu
Summary: A school is to be demolished. The bankrupt school owner plans to do so and sell the land. Five students stand up to the challenge to top the national exams. Will education and jobs be lost? A school tale of romance, comedy and drama. Tune in to find out.
1. Oh No!

**Author's Notes**: This is another petty attempt at making something original. I was inspired again, unfortunately, to create a story with a school setting. No, I don't think this is even worth calling a novel. It suits to be called a script of some sort or perhaps a television drama. I'll try my hardest so you'll enjoy it though. Somehow, I think that I should thank God for the provision of blessed inspiration. And yet, I feel sad since I'll have a hard time writing this and continuing my other story both at the same time. I just have a problem with finishing stories. Like Aya**** Haya** from Haya** No Goto** said, it takes passion to strive hard and complete a manga. This isn't a manga, but the same concept still applies. Maybe I don't have the passion that it takes to be a writer. Sigh. Anyway, I now introduce to you another product of my imagination. This one is titled, ...uh. No permanent title yet. Untitled. :D Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Setting aside the fact that God owns everything, I don't own this _yet_. If it turns out well, who knows? I might even file for a copyright and eventually publish it. From what I can deduce, that's not gonna happen. Who am I fooling? I guess all I can do is dream. Dreaming is free, right?

**Other Tidbits**: I apologize in advance if the names don't sound so Korean. As a challenge and a hunger for exploration, I wanted to write a story that took place in Korea, but I think it would be difficult for me and my target audience if I used Korean names like...uh...Se*** Hui Kye. They'll just be confused and all. Just imagine that some of the names here are the 'translation' of their Korean names, like how actors similarly have.

Episode 1

Oh No!

_ Monday, March 1, 7:00 AM_

"Goooood morning!"

"_Just five more minutes._"

"Rise and shine!"

"_Five more minutes. Please._"

"It's seven o'clock and it's time again for our-"

The sixteen year-old's eyes shot open. She quickly glanced at the clock on top of the bedside table.

"_Oh_ _no._" It _was_ seven o'clock.

The babbling of a television show host woke her up. She grabbed the remote and closed the television, posting a mental note-to-self to remind her mother to remember to turn it off before leaving. Still groggy from waking up, she grabbed her uniform from the dresser and dashed to the bathroom, knocking down a chair on the way there. In less than three minutes, she was already running downstairs for breakfast, finished taking a shower.

The girl, named Natalie, snatched a loaf of bread from the table as she technically sprinted to the door. She slipped on her black school shoes and ran out into the busy streets of Seoul, her walnut locks still dripping wet. Carefully, she closed the door behind her.

Natalie rummaged through her pocket for the house keys. Empty.

"Ugh," she muttered in irritation.

She went in again and ran upstairs to get them. She hurried back down the stairs and tripped, scratching her knee. Keys now at possession, she blasted through the door and locked it.

"_It's mom's fault for not waking me up._"

Natalie swallowed the loaf, sneaking through the small gaps between bustling clusters of people. It was another typical Monday. The sidewalks were crammed with businessmen, office workers and teenagers. It was the dreaded first day of school and she couldn't risk being late. Natalie maneuvered through twists and sharp turns, knowing several shortcuts.

She glanced at her pink watch. "_Ten minutes left._" The lack of time pushed her legs to move faster. Natalie moved forward against the crowd of people and entered another shortcut in the form of a dark alleyway.

The alleyway was dim and dirty. Litter was spread randomly across the floor and shadows of the buildings serving as the walls of the narrow path shrouded everything in obscurity. The light seemed to decrease increasingly as she dug deeper into the tunnel. Glancing at her watch again, Natalie sighed. Five minutes left. She continued to walk blindly down the deserted alleyway. As she reached the end of the alleyway, she realized something. She had made a mistake. This was the wrong alleyway, and it was a dead end.

Suddenly, she heard light footsteps behind her. She whirled.

A filthy man was there, blocking her path back to the entrance. He was evidently under the influence of an overdose of drugs, striking raw fear into the young female. He flashed his rotting teeth at her in a grin.

"What a pretty girl," the man commented, scrutinizing her from top to bottom.

Questions drove her mind into panic. In a second, she was cornered in a wall.

The wall pushed her forward as the man continued his advance toward her. The man pranced at her, clutching both her wrists.

"L-Let go of me!"

"Come here babe, let's have some fun."

Panicking, Natalie kicked with her free leg. The man let go of one hand. She ran towards the opposite direction. She scampered into an abandoned apartment through a back door.

The abandoned apartment was even darker and the wooden planks serving as flooring were in bad condition. They creaked noisily under the weight of her steps. She was afraid that it would give way and break, pitting her into the basement, if the apartment had one.

The door slammed open.

A wave of panic crashed over her, her instincts screaming at her legs to move. Natalie disappeared into the darkness as the man tried in vain to locate her.

"Come out!" The man's ragged voice echoed in the maze of rooms.

She tried to breathe steady, soundlessly. Her adrenaline was pumping against her chest and all she could do was run. She dashed blindly from room to room. Escape was within her grasp.

"Come out!" The voice was nearer than she had expected.

Faster. She had to run faster. Her injured knee was yelling in protest but she didn't care.

Faster. She had to find the exit faster.

"There you are!"

The door behind her crashed open. She told herself not to look behind her back. Fear made her go against her own thought. She looked back and paid the consequences.

Natalie tripped and crashed on the aged wooden planks.

Panic prevailed over pain. Knees scathed, she heaved herself from the floor as quick as she could and took note of what had caused her fall over the duration of a split second. A small chest was on the floor, forced open by the strength of her panicked footsteps. A silver necklace was stuck halfway through the lid's opening.

Two strong arms pulled her feet. Afraid, Natalie gazed deep into her captor's eyes. Her heart stopped. All she could see was lust. A deep, carnal lust. The grip tightened as the man brought her under him.

He laughed as he took off her blazer, exposing her white laced blouse.

She flailed.

"Help!"

The man held her legs down this time, preventing her from kicking him there again.

"You're mine now," he managed to say through Natalie's struggling, chuckling to himself.

She thrashed about, fighting for control over the man. She took a deep breath and did the unexpected.

"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhcckk-PTOOO!"

She spat right in his eye.

Natalie crawled to her feet and ran for her life as the man recoiled. Going past the same trail, she skidded through toppled tables and chairs and found what she was looking for in one of the bedrooms. A door. Her escape route.

"_Finally_," she thought, mentally and physically drained. She stopped, grabbed the doorknob and threw it open.

Freedom.

Too much freedom.

It was a balcony. Four floors above pavement.

There was no escape.

She could either jump for her life or stay and let doom take hold of her. She knew she'd die either way. Any remaining hope was destroyed. It was too late for her to go back and retrace her steps.

Natalie held the railings with both hands and prepared for the jump, thinking that she'd rather commit suicide than let that man ruin her.

She stood on her toes and pushed herself forward.

"_Just jump._"

Her hands blanched against the railings.

"_Do it before he comes._"

She couldn't do it.

"_It'll be over in a second._"

She closed her eyes and finally gave up to her fate. Her feet took off and her upper body lunged forward. Then backward, abruptly stealing all the breath in her lungs.

The man grabbed her waist from behind. He threw her to the bed without even giving her time to turn around. "Let me have a taste," the man slurred, licking his lips.

The man leaped on her. She fidgeted wildly, trying to break free from his grasp. But, the man was too strong. He straddled her, holding her down, his eyes stained with malice.

She screamed as loud as she could. "Help! Anyone!"

"Help!" she screamed again before her mouth was covered by the man's hand.

All was in vain. No one could hear her.

"Help!" her muffled voice bounced off of the man's palm. Tears came running down. Her arms and legs felt weak. "Help, please!"

Powerless, she closed her eyes as the man started to lift her skirt. It was over. She had no chance against him.

The only thing that she could do was close her eyes and pretend it wasn't happening. But then, her mind went completely blank. Two hungry hands went for the buttons of her white blouse.

She felt paralyzed, completely helpless.

She couldn't protect herself. It was the end. She choked, crying, as her lungs refused to breath. Inside, slowly, she was being crushed bit by bit, until she was destroyed and rendered useless. Not anymore a human being, but an object of pleasure. A toy.

Suddenly, she heard the door burst open.

"Get away from her!"

A chair flew overhead. A loud crash. The man was forcefully knocked off of her.

Natalie opened her eyes slowly, squinting, and saw a boy standing in front of the door. The boy quickly helped her up and secured her behind him as the potential rapist stood up.

"Stand behind me." He held her hand as tight as he could.

Natalie stole a glance at the boy's coat pocket where a pen was inserted. A black-lettered 'Leonhart' was engraved on the gold surface. "_Leon._" his name echoed in her mind.

Then, the man regained footing and ran towards them. He waived his knife at both of the teens. Leon pushed Natalie away and avoided the attack. The man pursued on attacking Leon. Leon evaded another stab to the chest as he strived to get out of a corner.

"Leave him alone!" Natalie screamed all the hatred out her throat. She took off one shoe and threw it at the man. Leon ducked. The shoe hit the man face-first. Immediately, he turned around, fuming with anger, before raising the knife at her. "How dare-"

Leon took the advantage and grabbed the man by the neck. Natalie stood there and stared, unable to control tears from flowing down.

"Go!" the boy yelled at her. "Just go!"

She didn't move. Her feet were frozen. Her mind was not working properly. She had nearly been a victim of a rapist and the psychological stress was already making its way deep inside her inner core.

The man managed to flip his knife around. Leon lost his grip on the man. The knife disappeared into Leon's shirt.

Natalie gasped.

The knife was retracted in a quick, savage motion. Red liquid gushed out in heavy amounts from his abdomen, the surrounding tissues damaged.

Natalie's perfect eyesight allowed her to see the red droplets that dripped to the floor.

Leon fell on one knee, clutching the side of his stomach. The droplets formed into a small puddle on the wooden flooring.

Blood.

The deep shade of red quickly spread on his white shirt. He looked at his crimson-stained hand as his vision became blurry.

The man pushed Leon away and turned to Natalie. She saw the reflection of her frightened image on the blood-stained knife. Taking her shoe, she ran out the door as the man chased her. She stormed around the maze of connected rooms and found a telephone.

She picked it up. A dial tone.

She dialed the emergency hot-line, her fingers still trembling. Frantic, she pushed too many buttons.

"_Darn it._"

She dialed again. Panic interfered with her control over her hands.

"Come back here!" The man's gruff voice echoed from one of the adjacent rooms.

It signaled Natalie to drop the phone and run. It didn't matter anymore if she dialed correct. She headed for the door across the small kitchen.

She grabbed the doorknob and threw the door open.

The man was at the other end of the door, scaring the daylight out of her. "Gotcha!"

She screamed, turning to flee. The man caught her arm and slammed her into the wall. She felt the man's bloody hand run across her left thigh. He grinned, pleased with what she had to offer.

"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhcckk-"

A hand covered her mouth. She tasted blood. Leon's blood. "You ain't doing that agai-"

"I said _get away from her_!"

Running feet. Natalie turned her head.

Leon ran into the man, throwing him into the table with a thundering crash. Splinters stabbed into the man's bare arms.

Leon got up and turned to Natalie. "Are you alright?"

"B-Behind you!"

A knife passed Leon's cheek as he turned around and fell to his knees. The man pointed the knife at him, provoking him.

"I'll kill you!"

The man lunged for him. The knife almost scraped Leon's eye out. Natalie ran behind Leon as he scurried to his feet and staggered to the left.

"Get out of here," Leon whispered into Natalie's ear. She clutched his sleeve with shaking hands.

The knife was swung. Leon stumbled. A narrow miss, avoided only by backing into the wall. Natalie was pushed aside, leaving her wide open for an attack.

The man went for it. Leon interfered. He grabbed the knife and fought over control.

"Le'go!" the man shouted, trying to tear Leon's hands from the weapon.

Their joined hands moved to the right. Then to the left. Leon made use of their position; he kicked with his foot and pulled with his hands.

The man recoiled back, the knife reclaimed, though it wasn't in his hands.

As horrifying as it could be, Leon stared in shock.

The knife was in his eye.

"GRAAAH!" the man screamed in agony, his hands trying to grasp the handle of the blade.

Natalie tried not to look as blood spurted from the man's eye. It flowed down the man's face then to the dull floor. She gasped. The man wrenched the knife out of the socket of his skull.

"Y-You!" he pointed at Leon with the knife.

Instinct screaming, Leon's body pushed to the left. It was too late.

The man lashed the knife at him.

The air trapped in his lungs, Leon couldn't move. His muscles stiffened like stone. He expected his vision to turn black, but it didn't. He didn't feel any pain either.

Leon looked behind him and found where the knife was, right there where he didn't expect it to be.

The knife was wedged into Natalie's chest.


	2. Run!

**Author's Notes**: Don't let the suspense fade away.

Episode 2

Run!

Natalie struggled to breathe air in. She did, and it only made it worse for her. Blood spilled itself from her mouth.

She could feel the knife bury itself further in her chest every passing second. Instead of air, she tasted blood run down her throat, into her lungs. The pain was already damn near unbearable, and in another minute, she would be drowned by her own blood.

"You bastard!"

Leon crushed the man's nose with a fist. The man did not even bother to evade the move. He fell flat on the floor with a bloody nose.

Leon spun around and ran to Natalie. She was lying on the ground, blood trickling down the side of her mouth.

"L-L...e...o...n."

Acting on impulse, he slid his arms around her neck and around her knees. He picked her up in one sudden motion, careful not to worsen her condition. He was ready to run to the nearest hospital. A sharp, rash twinge made Leon flinch and stop.

"_Come on, just a little bit more._"

He forced his body over its limit and took a quick step forward for a sprint to the hospital.

Suddenly, pain emerged from his ankle. It brought him down to the floor with a thud and almost made him throw Natalie forward.

Leon glanced at his foot, staring in disbelief. A blade was lodged in his ankle.

The man, also on the floor, laughed as Leon winced in pain. "You think I'd give up that easily, huh?" he mocked as he stood up and grabbed Leon by the collar.

A fast punch drove Leon up into the air, then crashing back to the wooden flooring. The blow forced both blood and air out of his body, a spray of crimson dotting the aged planks. Another hammer blow landed on the same spot, on the same bleeding wound, and his vision violently flickered from black to red.

"Get up, boy!"

He strived to get on his feet, though with his best efforts he couldn't. The blade stuck to his ankle was crippling him by the second.

Time was running out.

Nearly slipping away from consciousness, Natalie coughed out more blood.

He had to get the hell out of here and bring Natalie to a hospital.

He couldn't waste any more time. He had to find a way. He had to outsmart this man somehow. If he didn't, he would be losing two lives.

"GRAH!"

Leon pulled the knife out of his lacerated ankle. The man smiled at his eagerness and determination. With all the strength that he had left, Leon rose to his feet once more, own weapon in hand.

"L...eo...n."

Leon glanced behind his back at the faint voice.

"...on." She coughed. "..Le..."

Natalie was already gasping for air. Leon turned back. He laid his guard down and received his punishment.

A dark blur of muscle and a swift blow to the stomach sent him reeling to the wall. The knife was tossed away, too far for either of them to reach.

He could feel his body grow heavier. His vision was blurred from blood and sweat. To win this fight would be a miracle.

"Do you believe in God?" Leon asked the man, panting.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just answer."

"I guess so."

"Good, 'cause a miracle is about to happen."

Leon pushed himself from the wall and leaped at the man.

A black haze covered the man's face like a shadow in a blink of an eye. It blocked his line of sight. He thrashed to get a grip on it, pulling it off his head and throwing it to the ground.

It was a jacket. He cursed.

Mind widely awake, the man wildly looked around for his opponent. The room was empty. The girl was gone too. He focused his eyes in the darkness. He looked into the next room and saw the boy running away, the girl in his arms.

"Smart boy," he chuckled before chasing Leon, snatching another knife by the kitchen counter as he left the room.

Leon wasn't really sure if the miracle he was expecting was for him to run away like an idiot. Nonetheless, it was good enough.

The light stung his eyes. He squinted, though his feet kept moving into the busy streets. With one foot limp, all he could do was hop, while carrying a 50-kilogram girl in his arms and bearing a terrible wound on his side.

It was impossible for him to be unnoticed by the people on the sidewalk. He was _bleeding _and everyone saw it. Without his coat, his blood-stained shirt was exposed to the public. The knife on Natalie's chest and the blood from her mouth wasn't helping either.

But, he ignored their irrelevant whispering and kept moving forward.

"_There should be a hospital here somewhere,_" he thought with the remaining hope that he had.

Then he realized that Natalie hadn't uttered a sound for the past three minutes. Perhaps, she was a little too quiet. Panic striking, Leon checked her wrist and applied pressure with two fingers. He slowed down his breathing and calmed himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't get a pulse even if she had one.

"_Weak, but still a pulse._"

He indignantly fought against the harsh sun, the wounds on his side and on his ankle, and the persistent screaming of his body for him to stop. He knew he was pushing himself too far. It didn't matter now.

A multitude of tan buildings rose in the distant background of the bright sky. The structures were plated with blue and green tinted glass windows all over. One white building stood out among the rest with its unique architecture. That was it, the boy thought.

Leon took a turn and went straight for the white building. Another turn. He crossed the street.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a blood-covered man running behind him at full speed. People started to scream, seeing that the man was missing an eyeball.

"_This guy's persistent_," Leon thought, smirking. He craved competition. Then, he made his pace deliberately slower, putting his plan into action.

"_Please, work._"

The man closed the distance between them in a minute. Every step sounded like his heartbeat, quickening to a raging pulse.

Swish.

Leon felt a blade cut the back of his shirt. A second later, he realized his shirt wasn't the only thing that was cut. His flesh, too, was. Fortunately, adrenaline blocked the pain for the meantime.

He took a quick glance behind. The man glared at him like a serial killer. Leon smirked. This was going to be amusing at the very least.

The hospital was just a few meters away. He only needed to cross the street once more. He raced for the emergency room. With one full breath, he ran across the wide street.

Car horns. He didn't care.

Vehicles passing him with an inch to spare, Leon sprinted for the other end of the road. The man was just three steps behind him.

BEEP! BEEP!

That last one almost ran him over. The man behind also had to jump aside. The difference between life and death was only a matter of cleverness.

BEEP! BEEP!

Sidestep.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

BHAG!

A body slammed into a concrete, speeding object.

A deafening screech of burning rubber blasted through Leon's ears. He turned around. The sight made him close his eyes in compunction, even just for a second. Maybe he had gone too far. But then, it wasn't his fault.

There on the concrete he saw the man's lifeless body sprawled, limbs twisted in all the wrong areas and bones sticking out where they shouldn't be. Dark red fluid flowed from the body to the side of his foot.

A delivery truck spun to a stop on the side of the road. The momentum of the vehicle apparently sent its victim's body rolling to the side, ribcage and internal organs crushed flat.

As passersby gathered, a man went out of the truck. His face was dripping with worried trepidation. Police vehicles swarmed from all directions and crowded the street.

Reducing rising guilt into a sense of responsibility, Leon fled from the scene as policemen investigated the area. He went directly to the emergency room of the hospital. He had wasted much of his time.

Nurses, doctors and medical staff were startled as a bloody high school student carrying another wounded student entered through the automatic sliding doors. They assisted the two patients immediately. The male was kept at bay and was given remedial treatment.

"Sir, what is your name?"

Leon followed Natalie with his eyes as the doctors strapped her to a stretcher and brought her to the surgery room, hidden away by thick double doors.

"Sir?" the nurse asked again.

He prayed he wasn't too late. He really prayed; granted that if it was possible, to give his life in exchange of hers.

"Sir?" The nurse took Leon's hand.

Pulled back to reality, he shakily turned his head to her. "What?"

"What is your name?"

"Leonhart Chalti-"

He winced. The nurse applied an alcohol pad on the cut on his ankle. He looked up and found himself staring at the entrance of the surgery room again. Physical pain was tolerable. Anxiety was killing him.

"If you would be kind enough to do so, could you please explain what happened to-"

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Is the girl going to be alright?"

He didn't notice the nurse apply another alcohol pad on his stomach to cleanse his wound. Clean gauge was taped around his midsection to stop the bleeding. The nurse understood his situation and left him with much wanted solitude.

Leon bowed his head and folded his hands together.

"_Please, don't let her die_."

He waited. And waited, and waited. The room had been the place where people were forced to endure long hours, the place that was always filled with people that were already well-accustomed to waiting, that the horror of it was very distant. The air was permanently humid from all the tears that had been wasted through the years. The chairs were worn down not by time, but by the anguish and fear of facing reality. It was the place where lives were lost and seldom saved, where people were forced to accept death, and where tears ran dry.

From all the wandering that Leon did inside his mind, the next four agonizing hours flew by.

Finally, the double doors opened and a team of doctors came out, taking off their surgical masks and sharing remarks through hand gestures. Leon ran to confront them.

"How is she?" It was the question that had been boggling his mind for hours.

The chief doctor gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Leon wished he heard wrong.

**Author's Notes**: Minor cliff-hanger. Well? Is it interesting enough to get you hooked? I sure _**hope**_ so, though I _**don't think**_so. It might not be that good in the beginning, but once I get into it, I promise it's going to be worth reading at the least. Please, give the story a chance. Flip the page. Next chapter.


	3. What? Where? When?

**Author's Notes**: If you've read this far, then I guess it's safe to say that you're interested in the story, even just a wee bit. And for that, I lay down my gratitude unto your feet. Please, please, keep reading. I know the first part isn't a big WOW but if you give the story a chance, I'm quite sure you'll learn to appreciate it. I'm open to criticism, comments, suggestions, anything. Just click the review button. Even a single sentence of encouragement or a declaration of hate for this story is deeply appreciated. I barely get any for original works so please, if you have a minute to spare, review. Reviews help writers feel a sense of satisfaction and it makes them feel that they have done their job well in a way or two. I just realized that I'm not supposed to be posting _this_ on **this** website. Oh yeah, I'm dedicating this to Him as a token of my gratitude. Enough chatter. This is episode three, read and have fun. ...Enjoy, I mean. Whatever.

Episode 3

What? Where? When?

Leon ran toward the group of medical surgeons.

"How is she?"

The chief doctor gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Leon wished he heard wrong. "What do you mean, 'I'm sorry'?"

"I'm sorry that you had to wait that long."

Leon wanted to slap the doctor right in the face. For a moment, the doctor scared him. Leon tried to school his expression. "Is she alright?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, she is."

"It seems like a miracle in fact," another doctor added. The others agreed by nodding their heads. "God answered your prayer, boy."

Leon just nodded to that. He didn't know how to respond to such a statement.

"We only need to let her rest for two to three days. The injury wasn't that fatal since we were able to absolve it early on. If she came here late, the problem would've worsened ten fold."

Immediately, Leon's hand moved on its own and took the doctor's hand in a handshake. "Thank you." The words came out automatically.

The doctor returned the handshake. "Now, please excuse us." The team of surgeons disappeared into a corridor. Relief swept Leon off his feet as he found a seat at the back of the three rows of chairs. He sighed and looked at the clock. 1:34 PM. How long was he supposed to wait?

Leon closed his eyes. He forgot something gravely important. He stood up from his chair and asked for the attention of the nearest nurse, not that he had any trouble doing it. In fact, all the nurses had their eyes stuck on his face.

"Miss, where are the belongings of the girl?"

The nurse blinked, staring at him.

"Miss?"

Stare.

Leon raised his voice. "Excuse me?"

"Y-What?"

Leon sighed. "Where are the girl's belongings?"

"What girl?"

"The one with the knife in her chest." He felt uncomfortable saying that sentence.

"Oh," the nurse muttered in disgust, "that girl. They're over there." She pointed west.

Leon thanked the nurse with a slight bow and proceeded to the direction the nurse had pointed. Despite his weariness, he could hear other nurses gather around the one he had just talked to. They were making fusses about how lucky she was, and the likes. Their giggles sickened him.

Leon shook his head. "_Girls._"

A small plastic bin was carelessly placed on top of a small table. Inside were Natalie's belongings: her clothes, watch, cell phone and wallet. Leon picked the wallet up with one hand. He flipped it open and started checking for IDs.

Leon held out a clear, rectangular one. It seemed too familiar. He read the information out loud inside his mind. "_Natalie Song._"

He had heard the name somewhere before, though he couldn't determine exactly when and where. He took the cellphone and skimmed through the phonebook. The cursor stopped at a specific name and he pressed the call button. Someone picked up immediately.

"Annyeonghaseyo?"

"Hello," Leon responded in a completely different language.

The woman on the other end of the line grew frantic. "Who is this?"

She knew English. Leon thanked God. "Mrs. Song, your daughter is being confined here at Seoul National Hospi-"

"Who is this?"

"Please come immediately."

"Who-"

"Please come so I can explain the situation more clearly." With that, Leon ended the call. He returned the cell phone in the bin. After several minutes, a woman, probably a teacher based on her aura, came inside the emergency room. Leon met her halfway.

"Was it you?" the woman inquired.

Leon nodded. He gestured for her to take a seat. Though the lady was still in a mild state of panic and shock, she complied and calmly sat down beside him. He relayed to her everything that had happened since that morning.

The woman flew off her seat and looked at the surgery room's general direction. "Is she-"

"She is fine. The surgery was a success."

Together, they walked up to the double doors and peered through the circular windows. There they saw Natalie peacefully lying on the bed positioned in the northern part of the room. The recurring sound of the electrocardiogram beside her bed provided a hopeful calmness. A green line was periodically moving up and down on the screen, monitoring the patient's heartbeat.

"Mrs. Song?" a nurse called.

The woman beside Leon spun around. "That's Miss Song."

Leon turned his head. "_Miss?_"

The nurse passed on to her a set of green clothing. Miss Song was about to follow the nurse into the dressing room when she stopped and glanced at Leon. "Aren't you coming along?"

Leon took his own set of garments and tagged along.

XXX

Natalie shot up from bed in cold sweat. Her breathing was partially controlled by something. She realized that she had an oxygen mask on. Squinting, she couldn't see clearly, but it was more than obvious that she was in a hospital.

Surprisingly, the white room was dim. Not because of her eyesight, but because the lights were turned off.

A hand brushed her hair away from her eyes. Natalie turned to her right. It was painful just moving her body a few inches. There was this distinct pain here and there. She felt really tired, like her muscles were gasping for oxygen.

"You okay?" a soft voice asked.

Natalie nodded and smiled faintly, showing signs of rapid recovery from the impact of the trauma and her injury. The surgery went well, and the knife was no longer stuck in her chest.

The figure beside her gently held her head down to the pillow. "Don't move. Just rest, okay?"

Natalie understood and blinked instead of nodding. She felt so exhausted, so much that she just wanted to sleep. Her eyes closed to the silence. Before her dream could cage her, she remembered a certain boy.

"_Leon._" His name rang in her mind like a bell.

She shifted on the bed but the person on her side kept her legs down. "Don't move."

Eyes still closed, she tried to stand up. "_Leon._" She had to thank him at least. She'd never have the chance again if she didn't do it now.

"Natalie Song, lie down and stay still." The voice grew harsh and commanding.

Natalie's body fell flat on the bed again. She didn't have the energy to move anymore. The calming sensation of her pulse slowing down forced her to give up her hold on consciousness. Just then, the door creaked open.

The lady who was sitting beside Natalie's bed approached the visitor, who was apparently watching from outside the room. "Yes?"

"Mrs. S-"

"Miss."

"Miss Song, please give this to her," Leon simply said as he handed over a small plastic bag.

"What's this?"

"She hasn't eaten anything since she woke up this morning."

"How did you know? Are you-"

"The doctors already approved this for Natalie to take."

Miss Song doubted and asked, "Why not just let her eat the food that the hospital provides?"

"She needs to eat well. And I don't think she'd eat that."

The lady nodded. The boy was right. "How do you know all this? Who are you anyway?"

"My name is not important. Please, give this to her when she wakes up," Leon ended as he gave Miss Song a dirty blazer. It belonged to Natalie. "The rest of her belongings are in safekeeping with the head nurse." Finishing with a bow, Leon disappeared from Miss Song's sight. The door was closed and she went back to Natalie's side.

"Who was that?" Natalie inquired, voice weak.

"Just someone that found your blazer and bought you some lunch."

"_My blazer?_" she thought. "_Leon?_"

"I heard about what happened to you. Are you feeling better now?"

"I want to go home."

"You have to rest and-"

"Mom. I want to go home." Her voice was getting weaker.

"You can't just do that, honey. The doctors said that you have to-"

"I don't care what the doctors say."

"Natalie." Whenever her mother called her by her name, it meant the end of the conversation. Miss Song always won their arguments.

Natalie wanted to roll her eyes. But, she couldn't. She felt _so_ tired.

"That boy also said that you should rest. I think he knows you. Is he a friend of yours?"

"_Leon._" Concentrating, Natalie dug deep in her mind to find any link to his name. Nada. She couldn't come up with anything. "I don't know him."

"Really?"

"Mom."

"Yes?"

"How about school?"

"School?"

"I'm going to be absent on the first day of school."

"First day of school?" Miss Song chuckled. "You're here in the hospital and you're worrying about school?"

Natalie blinked. "Yeah."

"It's March 1st Movement today. I don't even know why you were wearing your uniform."

That didn't make any sense. "What?" Natalie begged for clarification.

"March 1st Movement, Natalie. A national holiday. There are no classes today."

"Oh," she squeaked.

Miss Song stared at her.

She stared back.

Miss Song blinked.

She blinked back.

"I'm hungry. Give me that plastic."

Miss Song handed over to Natalie the plastic bag that Leon gave her. Natalie took out a styrofoam container from inside and opened it. Caesar salad.

"Are you sure he's not your friend? He even knows your favorite."

Finding a fork inside the plastic, Natalie placed it inside her mouth.

XXX

_Later that day, 6:10 PM_

Niyuuuuh.

Leon, on his way home from the hospital, clasped a hand against his empty, growling stomach. He hadn't eaten anything in the past three days. He spent the last portion of his money on the salad he bought for Natalie. It was the only thing he could think of that was cheap, healthy and satisfying. He was saving it for himself, but he thought that she needed it more than he did. And of course, he was wrong.

Walking along the streets of dusk, all that he had was a loaf of bread that a nurse gave him out of pity. Physically, he appeared to be in good shape. He was neither skinny nor fat. Basically, he was lean with several muscles slightly toned by everyday exercise. However, today, his eyes looked even more dull than its usual stony gray hue.

Passing by convenience stores lit up by advertisements and colorful lights, Leon glanced at the single loaf that he had for dinner, and most probably breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next three days. He brought it to his hungry mouth.

A beggar was sitting silently on the side of the sidewalk. He sat on the hard, unforgiving pavement and had no cloth to warm himself with during the freezing nights. The man had nothing. Needless to say, his clothes were ragged and his skin was coated with accumulated dirt. He had a small tin can in front of him like all beggars did. Only a few coins were inside, not even enough for a bus ride. He also had a wooden sign board for everyone to see. It read: I am blind. Please help.

Sighing, Leon approached the beggar and took the wooden sign. He saw a used marker on the man's torn shirt pocket and took it. He knelt in front of the man, wrote several words on the other side of the board and gave it back to the blind man.

Leon gave his loaf one last look before placing it on the beggar's palm. Satisfied, he rose to his feet and continued his trip back home. Afterwards, people started putting coins in the blind man's tin can. On the wooden board was written: Tonight is a beautiful night and I cannot see it. The beggar ate the loaf of bread with tears in his eyes.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Uh. I've spent forever editing the chapters for the better. I'm sorry if it's boring. I'm trying my best to make it interesting. Forgive me for any mistakes, run-ons, grammatical errors, parallelisms, repetition, bad choice of words, et hoc genus omne. I am merely a human.


	4. Extra Cheese Please!

**Author's Notes**: This was supposed to be an absurdly long chapter but I chose to split it in half for the reader's sake. Eh. I hope it wouldn't disrupt the flow of the story much.

Episode 4

Extra Cheese Please!

_ The first day of classes, March 2, 6:24 AM_

It was time for the students to go to school again.

A white collared polo shirt which was overlapped by a black European coat with an alternating white and black lined-hemline and tightened by a silvery yellow necktie, black dress pants, plain black socks, and of course, black half-inch heeled leather shoes completed the uniform of the male students in South Concord Academy. For females, any blouse was permitted, but black sweater vests were suggested. It must be also worn under a black blazer very similar to the males' and secured with a silvery yellow ribbon necktie. Instead of pants, they wore a black skirt with thin, red checkered lines, which ended half-way to the knee. They had no implementations on socks or stockings but wearing black shoes were required.

Leon fixed the bag strap on his shoulder. Passing through the hallway leading to his classroom, he felt the eyes of the girls he walked by bore holes into him. He ignored their gazes and headed to his classroom.

Turning around the nearest corner, he found the classroom he was assigned to. He stopped in front of the door as if hindered by the mystery and uncertainty of the world behind the door.

"Are you just going to stare at the door like that?"

Leon spun around. It was a girl.

Leon examined the girl in front of him. From mere observation, Leon knew that her height was around five and a half feet, which was half a head shorter than him. The girl was attractive, limitlessly noticeable even from a good twenty feet away. She had an appearance of a young Korean actress. Her face was smooth and roundly curved, not too long, not too circular. Sharp hazel eyes shaped like carved diamonds that stood out with black eyeliner, a rosy, creamy white complexion and naturally pink plump lips were her striking features. Her hair was a shade in the middle of medium and dark brown, similar to dark auburn. Her thick locks were smoothly curled toward the ends, falling in straight lines around chest level, and were parted sideways from the left, with her thick fringes hanging just above her eyes, speaking loudly of her inclination to Korean fashion and culture. Her blazer was tightly fastened with one button around her waist, accentuating her curvaceous, slim form. Her shoes had arguably high heels, complementing the black leggings that started from her feet and ended just above her knee. Clearly, she was stunning even only in her school uniform - not that it interested him. Albeit her attractive appearance, something was not right. She looked very gloomy and low-spirited. She appeared to be terribly dejected, but that didn't hinder her prettiness from blossoming. Then, Leon realized who the girl was.

Leon narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

The girl grinned at him idiotically. It was Natalie.

"You study here too?" She looked intimately adorable: the way her cheeks slightly rose and how her lips parted to show her pearly white teeth in a grin. Her smile was one of those natural, instantly-fall-in-love-with-me smiles no matter how stupid it looked to Leon.

"That much is obvious."

She stuck her lower lip out in a cute pout. **

It was the first time Natalie had seen Leon's whole face in the light. His black onyx eyes were a safe shelter of calmness and determination. They gave her the distinct impression that he was trustworthy and loyal. His black hair was the second thing that caught her eye. It was slightly wild and waxed, with his long, sharp fringes combed in a wave. He looked exceptionally mature compared to the other male students of his age, which added to his somewhat darkly alluring aura. Unlike the usual way of dressing, his coat was buttoned only in the middle and his collar was crisp and slightly raised, giving him a well-suited bad boy look. The cuffs of his white shirt ended a few inches after the cuffs of his black coat. His gentleman-like stature, chilling stare and chiseled features complemented all these. With his physical god-like perfection, he looked more of a mix of European and Korean lineage. And his voice. His _voice_. She would melt into a puddle of girly-goo just by hearing it. It was low, but clear. In one word, charming.

"Thank you for helping me yesterday," Natalie expressed in her voice which was slightly deeper than that of female teenagers of her age had. Leon glanced at her from the corner of his eye, slightly amazed at her fluent English. They were studying in an international school, but that itself didn't imply that all students enrolled there were excellent in speaking _and_ writing English, which was the official language used inside the campus.

Leon kept his silence and chose to reply with a nod. It was what he would normally do. She sighed softly at his shallow response.

They shared a brief silence as feelings weren't turned into words.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?"

Slowly, Leon tilted his neck to Natalie's direction. His stare, which appeared as a glare, scared her. Maybe he didn't like talking.

He returned his gaze on the blackboard. "You're supposed to be in the hospital resting."

"I hate hospitals," she said, puffing out her cheeks as she stared at her desk. She then turned to him and flattened her lips against each other to form a slight curve. "Besides, I feel fine."

"You had a _knife_ lodged in your chest."

"Then how about you? You were stabbed...twice?"

"...That is none of your concern."

"Then so is mine." Natalie crossed her arms and faced front. When she saw him frown, she snapped back to him and smirked. She held out an open hand. "I almost forgot. I'm Natalie Song."

Her vibrant smile wiped the frown off his face. Leon took her hand in a handshake. "Leonhart Chatelier."

The following silence was broken by the female. "Why are we here?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Natalie was actually surprised to get an answer from Leon this time. "And when is soon?"

"When we are complete."

"Others are coming?"

"Three of them, to be exact. That's why there are still three empty seats."

Natalie looked around and noticed that there were three unoccupied chairs. "Atta," she squeaked. "Dumb me." Natalie pursed her lips and did a facepalm.

"Who do you think the three are?" Natalie asked as she subconsciously observed Leon's pose. He had his back straight against the chair and one of his hands was buried in his pocket while the other one was on the desk. He looked quite charming in his uniform. As the cold breeze from outside the classroom whipped him from the front, his dark coat billowed behind him like a cloak. A cloak that represented something. Something he was hiding from everyone.

Leon cut her off from her staring. "One of them is Kim Yun-Hee."

"Kim Yun-Hee?"

"A classmate of mine since elementary."

"Oh." Her eyes fell to the floor. "A childhood friend?"

"You could say that."

"Wait. How did you know that she was-"

"It's posted there." He pointed at the glass window of the classroom. A regal-sized bond paper was taped on it. Natalie, feeling dumb again, slapped her forehead, plaguing Leon to smirk.

She sighed, glancing at her watch. "Classes don't start for another hour."

"Hn," was Leon's response. Silence followed. An idea popped in Natalie's mind like a suddenly flashing light bulb.

"Leon," she called. It was the first time she had spoke of his name and it definitely made her feel unavoidably awkward. The boy kept his eyes on the wall on his far front and didn't even glance to regard her.

"Do you want to have some breakfast?"

"I already ate." Lie. He hadn't eaten absolutely anything in the past few days.

She pouted, feeling rejected.

"If you haven't, you can go ahead if you want to eat," he offered, displaying his pensive character. "The cafeteria is already open by this hour."

"Are you sure you won't come?"

He shook his head and carried on with staring at the wall, as if nothing fascinated him more. Natalie rested her chin on her desk. "I'm hungry."

"Go and eat."

Withdrawing from the comfort of her chair, she dragged her feet lazily across the cement, pouting all the more. "Alright. I'm going to the canteen then."

Leon nodded. "Go and have breakfast," he repeated.

"I'm really leaving," she stated, her assertion threatening him. All she got back from him was an indifferent nod. She turned around and headed for the classroom door. She grew disappointed when he didn't even glance at her to watch her leave.

Furious, she marched back to him. "_God, this boy is so insensitive._" Natalie grabbed Leon's sleeve and dragged him to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was already open since they had to prepare a lot of things before the day started. Tables made for six people were arranged across the long hall. Similar to that of the classroom's case, the pungent smell of newly furnished wood filled the area.

A bowl of noodles was neatly placed in front of Leon. A pair of wooden chopsticks held the lid down, preventing it from opening. The heat and flavor was sealed inside, protected by a flap of foil. On its right was a glass of water. Leon did nothing but stare at it. The meal was given to him by Natalie through direct persuasion and force, presenting it to him as what she had called 'a token of her gratitude' for his kindness. He was later joined by the giver of the gift, who also placed a similar bowl on the table as she sat down beside him. She glanced at Leon, and an amused smile appeared on her lips.

"Don't you like Korean noodles?"

Leon gave the girl beside him a sideways look. "No."

She smiled sweetly at him, her cheeks and lips cheerfully tugged upwards. "Just try it."

"I think I'll just have the glass of water."

"It isn't that bad, you know."

Taking Natalie's assuring smile as collateral, Leon broke the chopsticks into two individual pieces and flapped the lid open. An outburst of gimchi and braised beef filled his nostrils. He could already taste the exuberant flavor just by inhaling the smell of the soup. It was the perfect meal for a cold day. He folded his hands to pray and valiantly dug in afterwards.

Five seconds later, Leon realized what the purpose of the glass of water was. He quickly grabbed hold of it and chugged down the liquid. His free hand clutched the table as he coughed, the burning in his throat growing less tolerable by the second. He let out a strangled groan as Natalie gently patted his back. Leon, being of English decent, was not used to large intakes of hot and spicy seasoning unlike people of Korean and Indian decent. He was sure his body wouldn't adjust in his desired alacrity.

"A-Are you okay?" she asked, unsure whether to laugh or be concerned. Leon gave her a pained glare when she finally broke into soft chuckling.

"Here." A glass of water was shown to him.

Desperate to exhaust the raging flames in his chest, he took it without hesitation. He downed half of the liquid in one go.

"Wa-The...I..." Natalie, surprised, stared at him.

Leon swallowed painfully, the burning now gone. He gave a grateful nod to Natalie, who was now slightly blushing for a reason he was unfamiliar with.

A few moments after, Leon was barely suppressing a smirk, or a laugh rather, from coming out. For once in his life, someone had almost made him laugh. _Almost_. Natalie had tears in her eyes. She apparently forgot to dissolve the flavoring of the noodles while the water was boiling. She accidentally ate the cube floating in the soup, which was akin to eating a handful of fully-grown chili, and chose not to drink from her glass despite the murderous burning both in her throat and chest.

Noticing that the matter was serious, Leon hastily jumped from his chair and asked for two glasses of water from the nearest catering service. The extra one was for safety measures. He went back, only to find her dripping with sweat, albeit back to normal.

Natalie's glass was now empty. He placed the two containers in front of her, examining her for any reaction.

His eyes flickered back to the empty glass marked with light pink lipstick.

"_Oh._"

Now he understood.

She frantically looked up at him. He blinked back, face lacking any expression. It kept bothering her as she thought how it served as an indirect ki-

"Drink this," he said in a very commanding tone, cutting her from her thoughts. He pushed a glass toward her with his hand. She reached out her hand to grab it and accidentally held Leon's hand which was at the other end of the glass. She quickly retracted her hand as she flushed, spilling the liquid on the table. Leon took out a handkerchief and cleaned the mess.

"Sorry," he muttered while in the middle of drying the table. Natalie looked up at him, cheeks remaining stained with red.

Intending to please his curiosity, Leon placed his hand on top of Natalie's. As expected, she took it back at record speed. "W-what?" she questioned in less than a second.

He gestured to the glass of water that had been waiting for her. "Drink."

She extended a hand to reach for the glass but habit made her glance at the pink watch strapped to her wrist. It was 7:46 AM. Classes were supposed to start at 7:30 AM **sharp**.

"We're late!"

"Wha-"

"Hurry up!" Natalie gripped on Leon's forearm and dragged him out of the canteen. As they went up the first flight of stairs of the main school building, suddenly, the heel of Natalie's shoe broke, causing her to lose balance. The inevitable happened. She tripped; her skin collided with the jagged cement steps. Leon immediately came to her aid. Her already scratched knee was now bleeding and her left ankle was sprained. To make things worse, her leggings were torn.

"Ow, ow, ow," she muttered with one eye open as Leon examined her knee with his hand. Surprised, Natalie let out a faint gasp as Leon lifted her from the ground. Leon carried her, supporting her back and legs with his sturdy arms.

She stared at him, not expecting his actions.

Leon caught her stare. "What?"

She uncontrollably blushed as his eyes locked with hers. "N-Nothing."

Lowering her head to extinguish the flame in her cheeks, she awkwardly swung her arms around his neck.

Leon dashed to the clinic and gently laid Natalie down on the bed. The nurse produced the first-aid kit from a multi-layered shelf. Recognizing who her new patient was and the fact that her shoe was broken, the nurse sighed hopelessly.

"You should be more careful," the nurse said while taking a pack of disinfectant and clean gauge out of the white toolbox. "It's just the first day of school and you've lost a shoe already."

Natalie bowed her head down ruefully. The nurse gave Leon a thankful smile and gestured him to take a seat adjacent to his new classmate. He reluctantly obeyed.

Shutting her eyes, Natalie groaned in pain as the nurse applied an alcohol pad on the cut on her knee. The pain made her flinch and grab the nearest thing to her, which in that case, was Leon's arm. She quickly let go and bashfully looked away. "S-sorry. And thank you. Again."

Leon nodded, his refined face filled with silent concern. The nurse taped a clean gauge on her wounded knee. She gave it a light tap and finished the necessary measures of immediate treatment. Natalie's ankle, however, could not be dealt with at once. The nurse gave her a cold compress for it in the meantime.

"Would you want to go to the hospital and have this examined?" the Korean nurse asked in straight English as she lightly tilted Natalie's ankle from left to right. The girl shook her head as fast as she could. "Are you sure? Does it still hurt?"

"Only a little."

Leon promptly knelt beside the nurse and took a look at her ankle. He ran his hand against the swollen part with a gentle, feather-light touch. Natalie suppressed a shiver as a warm, blissful sensation coursed through her body.

"It's nothing serious," Leon assured, taking his hand back. He gave it one last look before he stood up. The nurse raised an eyebrow at him, questioning his validity. She took a deep breath and pulled herself up from the floor. "Would you mind looking after Natalie? Both of you are in the special section, right?"

Leon nodded, not that he wanted to take care of his classmate, but to confirm that they were two of the five chosen students.

"I'm busy with arranging the student records. Would you?" Being a nurse of a school of such class and caliber not only meant treating the students when they complained that they were dizzy, feel sick, or suffering from stomach aches. The nurse also had to take care of the documents and medical records of students – arranging them, correcting them, updating them.

"I will, Miss Hyun," Leon finally claimed. The nurse patted him on the back before she headed for the door. She closed the lights before soundlessly shutting the door behind her so that Natalie could relax. Leon hastily turned the lights on without seeking Natalie's opinion. He sat on the bed opposite to where Natalie was. His abdomen churned in pain and his face expressed it.

Feeling drowsy, Natalie proceeded to taking off her shoes and stockings. She smirked when she saw that Leon was staring off at a totally different direction for obvious reasons. His face was lacking any distinguishable emotion all morning but at that moment, she could sense a slight hint of a timid, embarrassed expression in his face. If she was honest with herself, she found it kind of...well...cute. She took off her watch and prepared to take a nap. Leon approached her and took her things for safekeeping.

"Kamsahamnida," she thanked whole-heartedly. He nodded, as always, and returned to his bed. Her soft yawn was muffled into silence as she covered her mouth with her hand. She slipped into the bed sheets, careful not to inflict pain on herself, and lied down on the comfortable bed. Depending on her right side to carry her weight in order to prevent further injury of her left ankle and knee, she rested her head on the soft pillow and faced Leon. As she had predicted, he simply stared back, sitting idly on the white mattress. After a while, he looked away from her, having perceived that his gaze was keeping her awake.

"Sleep well."

She nodded and habitually replied in Korean. "Ne." Under the bed sheets, a giddy grin slowly crept unto Natalie's lips.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: What do you think? I wasn't going for a cheesy chapter but I somehow think my attempt at slight fluff and romance ended like that so I decided to name this chapter as it is. Were you constantly awake while reading this? If yes, then I'll be darned. That's awesome. If not, then...okay. Thanks for reading.


	5. Tests Again? Boo!

**Author's Notes**: This chapter surely is a description-overload one. Too much details on the characters' looks. Bare with me.

Episode 5

Tests Again? Boo!

_March 2, 10:02 AM, School Clinic_

Natalie shot up from bed in cold sweat. Dazed, she shook her head to clear her mind and get rid of the nightmare that haunted her, though it just made her dizzy. Surprisingly, the room was dim. The lights had been switched off again.

Dizzy, she tried to stand up from the bed. Her foot was caught by the bed sheets.

"Ah!" She tumbled forward and closed her eyes instinctively as she fell.

Something grabbed her arms firmly yet gently and stopped her from hitting the floor. Opening her eyes, she stared blankly at the floor for a moment before following the hand on her right arm up to the face of Leon. He was staring right into her eyes, his dark onyx orbs naked with worry. She felt her body instantly heat up and her cheeks flush red. She suppressed a shudder as Leon delicately let his fingers slide down the side of her arms.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked, cutting Natalie off from her staring.

"H-Huh?" she asked back, suddenly feeling ridiculously nervous.

He stared at her intently, searching her face for a reaction. She swallowed, uncomfortable with all the attention he was giving her. Something sparkled in his eyes that she couldn't place, a look that stirred both fear and excitement inside her.

"I'm not that experienced..." he started in his deep voice, putting a firm hand on her bare thigh. Natalie let out a faint gasp as she felt shivers run down her spine. "So please bear with me."

And suddenly, he moved toward her.

He slung her legs to the front of the bed. Natalie gulped. What was he doing? She was thinking too much that she didn't notice that he only checked on her ankle. The hand on her thigh was to secure her, for her not to fidget, which could lead to even more injury. If Leon wasn't the person that he was, Natalie would've slapped him and thought that she was being molested. He took her ankle carefully in one hand, ignoring the fact that her skin was as soft and smooth as silk.

"Does it still hurt?"

She quickly tore her eyes from him when he glanced back. "N-Yes, well, a bit," she stammered, having trouble with focusing as his touch filled her with dazing perplexity.

"Here?" he laid a finger on the sore spot.

Her mind screamed in protest but she remained calm. "Yes, there."

Leon massaged the area of her ankle with careful precision. His skilled fingers followed the shape of the bone, matching his touch with the softness of her skin. She moaned softly as her eyes slowly slid close.

All bliss turned into hurt when he tilted her foot to take a better look. She bit her lip to repress the pain. He tilted it again. She couldn't take it. Unintentionally, she kicked him in the gut, releasing his hold on her aching ankle.

Natalie slapped her hand on her mouth. "Mianhamnida," she apologized.

She mentally slapped herself when she remembered about Leon's wound. Despite her disability, she heaved herself from the comfort of the white sheets and helped him to the other bed. Natalie forgot that the nurse was just in the next room and thought that she was the only one who could treat him.

"H-Hey, w-what are you d-doing?"

Natalie unbuttoned Leon's coat and shirt in a panicked motion, ripping off some buttons here and there. Startled when she jumped at him on the bed, Leon gaped at her before he squirmed.

Natalie found that the wound had worsened, and the bandage around his abdomen was almost completely soaked in blood. She seized an alcohol bottle from the nearby shelf and opened it. With no hesitation whatsoever, she splashed the liquid on his wound.

"GAH!"

Outside the room, Nurse Hyun was dutifully updating her seventy-fifth document when a bloodcurdling shriek interrupted her. It came from the room where the two students were. Overwhelmed with a mixture of fear and surprise, she withdrew from her desk and headed to the room.

"Stop!"

"Be still! Just one more!"

"No! Don't!"

The screaming from inside caused her to have goosebumps. Nurse Hyun reached for the doorknob and turned it, revealing the two students as the door went ajar.

Her eyes grew as large as plates.

The two students looked at her, surprised.

Natalie was straddling Leon, sans shirt and coat, on the bed. One of Natalie's hands was on his bare chest while the other was somewhere else, hidden by the mysterious darkness of the room. The absence of light added to her concept of what was going on.

"Sorry," Nurse Hyun apologized for interrupting before closing the door and returning to her desk, leaving the two alone. She continued her work, vaguely disturbed.

Leon took the alcohol bottle from Natalie's hand while she was distracted. Nurse Hyun had proven herself efficient for the first time, Leon thought.

"Hey!" Natalie interjected, trying to take the dreaded bottle back.

There was no way Leon would let her spill alcohol on his wound again. He raised his hands diagonally from his head, pushing his arms further to prevent Natalie from reclaiming the bottle. Natalie lunged for the bottle, but she missed.

The air was forced out of Leon's lungs as Natalie crashed on top of him. Natalie flushed madly from being in their position. The temperature of her body immediately shot up. Her thighs were pressed softly against his sides and her face was only inches from his, all but scraping any remaining mental capability that she had. She stared at him as he stared back, both of their eyes glistening. She felt his warm breath on her lips, and hers on his. She nervously swallowed past the lump in her throat.

The door opened. Both of them glanced at the person who came in.

"What are you-Ah!" Nurse Hyun covered her eyes. "Please, don't do that inside the clinic."

Natalie got up as fast as she could and sat on the other bed, covering the dark blush on her cheeks with her long, dark auburn hair. Leon, possessing more composure than Natalie could ever have, similarly sat up and claimed his spot on the bed.

"Both of you are still young, alright? There's no need to hurry," the nurse commented in parental care. "You'll have more chances to do that in the future."

Natalie flushed. She was surprised when Leon chose to speak this time instead of being mute.

"And you say that from experience?"

The nurse grew red in embarrassment and anger. "Leonhart Chatelier, you-"

Natalie and Leon tried their best to hide their smirks. Leon remedially bowed. "Relax, Miss Hyun. It was a joke."

Nurse Hyun cleared her throat loudly. "Very well then," she started, opening the lights. She gasped after seeing the gash on Leon's stomach. The bed covering was stained with red. The nurse sighed and left the room for the medical kit. "Kids these days. So feisty."

Leon and Natalie looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and shrugged.

Later, the unsuspected duo found themselves strolling around the campus. Leon had his wound treated and his bandage replaced with a new one. Natalie's sprained ankle had healed enough to let her walk, though it hadn't completely recovered. Habitually, Natalie glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes had passed since eleven o'clock. She then fixed her eyes on the young man walking in front of her. She felt guilty and selfish about not being able to give Leon's condition the proper attention that it deserved. She had always been first in line since morning. Leon had ceaselessly helped her for the past hours, not even giving himself anything as to a chance of recovery. She knew she owed him more than her sympathy.

"Hey, Leon."

He glanced behind his shoulder.

"Thank you, really."

"For what?"

"For everything."

He faced front and gave her his back to look at. "Welcome."

Seconds of silence prevailed over the two. Natalie was getting used to it after experiencing it several times already. In fact, she didn't find it boring. It was...pleasant.

Leon suddenly stopped. "Aren't we forgetting something?" He turned around and made eye contact with her.

He stared.

She stared back.

He blinked.

She blinked back.

Leon's mouth opened a bit, having realized what they had forgotten. Slowly, he closed his eyes and mentally reprimanded himself for being so tactless. How could he let such an important thing pass his mind?

Natalie gasped as her eyes went as large as the sun. "We forgot about class!"

XXX

_11:23 AM_

Principal Matthew scratched his bald head. "Where are they?"

Miss Song bit her lip. "I told her to stay here..."

The door suddenly burst open. Two panting students came inside classroom.

"Where have you been?" shrieked Miss Song at her daughter.

Natalie cringed. "T-The clinic."

Miss Song's voice immediately softened. "Clinic?"

"She tripped while running up the stairs," Leon stated.

"Excuse me."

The three of them looked at the Principal. He scratched his head again, feeling neglected and ignored.

"Sit down, the two of you," Principal Matthew ordered before he left the classroom.

Apparently, Leon and Natalie weren't the only ones who were late. In fact, they were still the earliest among the five. Leon took his chosen spot from this morning. Natalie also did the same and sat on the chair beside Leon's, the same place that she was earlier.

Then, there came the next student.

"That's Kim Yun-Hee?" asked Natalie.

Leon nodded.

Yun-Hee was a halcyon female with long black hair that was fixed in a neat ponytail and was given distinction by thin, graduated layers in order to create smooth curving lines that framed her head. Her skin was ivory white. With perfectly shaped cheeks, eyes and lips, she was beautiful for someone so young. She walked into the room and occupied the chair beside Leon. Natalie had to admit that the girl looked attractive and friendly; combining into the typical type that boys would have crushes on.

Leon was, strictly speaking, sandwiched between two girls. He felt rather uncomfortable, and an urge to change his seat pestered him.

The girl with dark locks gave Leon a full smile. "Annyeonghaseyo."

"Annyeonghaseyo," he answered in the liveliest way he could. It still turned out dry and emotionless. Yun-Hee accepted his dull reply since she had already grown accustomed to it over the years.

Natalie was surprised to receive a similar greeting from the female. "Annyeonghaseyo," Yun-Hee said with a friendly wave. Natalie shyly returned the greeting with half a bow and half a smile. "Annyeong."

Leon was about to stand up to transfer when another female was haled into the classroom. Everyone turned their heads to see who it was. Leon's eyes narrowed so fast they practically disappeared. "_Mi-Young._"

The two-year-straight valedictorian strode across the room, her gait feminine yet sophisticatedly arrogant. Her midnight black locks followed the shape of her face. She wore her hair short like a bob, a little above chin level, and her front hair was grouped together into a long, heavy, pointed fringe that hung over the right half of her face down to the side of her mouth, partially revealing her red half-rimmed glasses. The glasses covered her small but sharp stormy gray eyes. Red shard earrings that dangled from her ears matched with her glasses. Black nail-polish contrasted her light complexion. She was slender and as tall as Natalie was. Her eyelashes were extensively long, boosting her feminine charm. Overall, she possessed greater physical and emotional maturity, since she was two years older than them.

Mi-Young seized one of the front seats, the seat which Leon was aiming for. The room suddenly became silent as if she carried a strong spell of authority around wherever she went.

Then, the Principal re-entered the room and stood in front of them, his aging hands tucked inside his pockets.

"Good morning, Principal," the students greeted in harmonious unison as they all stood up, bowing in respect. The Principal bowed, and the students sat down thereafter.

He analyzed the four students seated and started, "You have been selected to undergo special lessons as preparation for the national exams this school year." He waited for them to respond before he continued, "I'm sure you've heard about our school's current position."

"The demolition?" Yun-Hee clarified.

"Indeed. Our aim is to top the national exams. The fifth and final member of the exclusive class is still overseas." Principal Matthew shifted his view from Leon to Natalie and finally Yun-Hee. "Since the three of you are in the same level, one of you needs to be the first, one the second, and the last one the third. Please work hard and achieve the requirements. From today onward, this shall be your classroom. We have hired a new teacher to guide you, along with the teachers you are already familiar with. Do you have any objections regarding this matter?"

The students shook their heads. All they heard was 'bla bla bla bla bla'. Who expected students to listen on the dreaded first day of school? Their brains were still wandering around and their mindsets were still in vacation mode. The only exception to this was Mi-Young.

The Principal then asked, "All of you had lunch as advised, am I correct?"

Yun-Hee and Mi-Young nodded. Leon and Natalie glanced at each other. They weren't advised to do anything.

"Good."

A sheet of paper was distributed to each member of the exclusive class. "The time now is eleven thirty. You have until four," Principal Matthew said.

The two hungry students glanced from him to the sheet of paper. "_Four?_" Natalie thought. Two words ran around her mind. "_Oh God._"

It was a test of three-hundred items with topics ranging from all subjects. To name a few, Chemistry, Geometry, Social Science, Korean, and English were included. "Start now," the Principal ordered without fully explaining the mechanics of the test.

Four and a half hours passed after several quick glances at the clock. Principal Matthew told them to put their pencils down on the table. Everyone did as commanded, whether contented or not with their answers.

The test papers were collected by Miss Song who immediately left to check them. The four students sat in silence and waited for the results. They had no choice but to stay inside the classroom anyway. Miss Song returned exactly twenty minutes after.

"These are the results of the exam. This will tell how much you have learned, and it will serve as a basis for which lessons you will be focusing more on." Miss Song gave back each student his or her sheet. She stopped by Natalie's seat.

"Are you okay?" the teacher inquired.

Natalie nodded. "I'm fine, mom."

Mi-Young adjusted her glasses as she adored her score of five mistakes. Yun-Hee smiled at her achievement of ninety percent. Natalie scanned the questionnaire after seeing her grade of eighty percent. Leon's eyes turned serious at the sight of the red digits. One hundred and three mistakes.

"Though you are still lacking one more member, please step forward one by one and introduce yourself, as well mentioning your score and an explanation why you have made mistakes. We'll start with the highest." It was not simply an introduction of the students, but it also was a test of their attitude, personality and pride. Confidence was a positive quality to possess. Pride wasn't.

Mi-Young automatically stood up. Her short, black hair swayed as she turned around to face her new classmates. Her eyeglasses reflected the angled rays of light, covering her eyes with a foggy blur. "Mi-Young. Third grade high school. Nineteen. Two hundred ninety-five over three hundred, minor miscalculations on trigonometric identities." Her straight posture and well-projected voice boasted confidence. She sat back down as the three students and the two teachers applauded.

The other three glanced at each other, not knowing who was supposed to be next. Yun-Hee instinctively rose to her feet and went to the front.

"I'm Kim Yun-Hee. I'm a first grade student. I'm already sixteen years old. I only got two hundred seventy out of three hundred because I wasn't sure of what answer to pick in some numbers. The test was really hard and...I didn't have a calculator to solve the problems."

The four students were not provided with anything except a pencil. Their scores were not that high, but just the ability to pass the test was considered a hard task. The time was extremely limited, and the questions were intensively difficult, nearly competing against the difficulty of college universities. The problem was that the national exams were much, much harder. And they had to top it.

The students clapped altogether. Leon bowed his head down in self-disappointment, giving Natalie a sure sign. She left her seat and faced the class. She bowed politely first before she started talking.

"My name is Natalie Song, also a student of first grade high school, sixteen years old. My grade is two hundred forty. I was careless in some questions."

Leon took a deep breath and stood up, controlling himself to not be ashamed. He did a good job and still appeared to have this distinct, cool, serious aura. He didn't pass the exam, he was the lowest among the four, and the score gap was quite large. "Leonhart Chatelier. First grade. Sixteen. One hundred ninety-seven." He glanced at his paper. "I lacked time."

Mi-Young didn't give Leon even a single clap as he returned to his seat. Yun-Hee gave him an encouraging smile but he refused to take it. He didn't feel sorry for himself, and he didn't want others to.

"A teacher will be specifically assigned to each one of you starting today. The first one shall be introduced shortly." As the Principal had said, a new teacher entered the classroom in a brief matter of seconds. It was a tough-looking man in a plain black suit. The man, approximately thirty years of age, stood and moved very rigidly. His face was serious and stiff, and he had a medium-built body, thus making anyone mistake him as the leader of the Yakuza.

"I will be your overall director. You will only address me by 'Sir', 'Sir Taiga' and nothing else. Do I make myself clear?" the man in black spoke.

The students nodded.

"What did I say?" His voice was demandingly strong. The four cringed.

"Yes sir!"

"_Are we in military school?_" Yun-Hee mentally asked, smiling to herself at the thought.

"What are you smiling at?"

Yun-Hee dropped the smile. "N-Nothing, s-sir."

"Good. I don't want to teach crazy students who smile for no reason."

Mi-Young grimaced.

"We will be tackling all subjects for this day. A brief run-through of lessons first." The Yakuza, er, teacher nabbed a chalk and began to make writings on the board.

XXX

_6:12 PM_

After another two strenuous hours, the sleepy students were barely receiving the information they were being bombarded with. The door abruptly slammed open and the Principal came in, waking up the students with temporary attentiveness. It was time for the most important part of the class. It was time to reveal who the teacher was assigned to.

"Sir Taiga shall be assigned to one of you. He shall help you through the year to overcome your weakness," Principal Matthew announced.

The three girls tensed. Leon didn't give a damn.

"That boy." Sir Taiga pointed a firm finger at Leon.

Now, he gave a damn. A real whole lot of it.

"Stand up!" he barked. Leon immediately struggled to his feet as if a crocodile snapped at him. Sir Taiga approached him and forced him into a crippling handshake.

"Taiga Ryouko."

"Leonhart Chatelier."

Leon countered Taiga's fierce glare, fighting the handshake with a squeeze of his own. Sir Taiga smirked. He had chosen well.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: This chapter was fairly...dull, I might say?

**Refresher**: [Mi-Young], female, is the arrogant student who was the valedictorian in her first and second grade high school years. [Yun-Hee], female, is Leon's childhood friend. Please don't confuse the two with each other. Thanks. [Natalie], female, is Miss Song's daughter and student. [Leon], male, is Yun-Hee's childhood friend. All of them are in the special class. You're getting confused now, aren't you? No? Good.

**Important Notes**: In case you didn't know, Korea's education system is quite different from what your school has, unless you're Korean, of course. Their **elementary** consists of **six** years (you usually graduate at the age of thirteen), followed by a **three year middle school**, then a **three year high school**. _Twelve years_ total. The high school duration is divided into three: first grade (sixteen years old), second grade (seventeen years old), and third grade (eighteen years old). Unique, eh? Thanks a lot for reading. Kamsahamnida!


	6. The Lone Wolf and the Glass Rose

**Author's Notes**: I think the progression of the introduction of the characters and the plot in the last chapters went on too quickly and slowly. Slow development, quick and sudden information overload. Did it? I think it did. Nevertheless, I hope you keep reading. Here's episode seven.

Episode 6

The Lone Wolf and the Glass Rose

_ The first day of classes, March 2, 6:54 PM_

Natalie was battling against a great enemy – sleep. Every single second, she bravely fought to keep her eyelids open. Every student in the school had gone home – except the four of them.

"...One square perch is equal to twenty-five point two nine two nine meters squared..."

Blink. Blink. Blink.

"...One square mile is equal to two-"

Her heavy eyelids slid close and her head nodded against her palm.

"Ms. Song!" Sir Taiga shouted. Natalie woke up, feeling her eardrums burst. "No sleeping!"

She strained a reply. "Yes sir!"

Seconds later, Natalie was back to her drowsy wonderland. She tried to keep her eyes open.

"...One square foot is equal to zero point zero nine two nine meters squar..."

THUD.

Knock out. Information overload. Natalie fell asleep face first on her desk.

On her left was Leon, quietly sighing and yawning alternately. Yun-Hee was on the last seat on the left, her chin propped on her hand, elbows on her desk. Among the four, Mi-Young was the only one who was still intently listening. The rest of them were forced to pseudo-listen. The rest of them who were still awake, that is. They had been also forced into overtime – the official dismissal time was 4:00 PM. That was only a taste of what was to come, as said to them by Sir Taiga.

An eternity of suffering ended as the Principal entered the classroom. "Hello everybo-"

"THAAAAANK GOD," Yun-Hee couldn't help but shout.

Everyone stared at her.

Dot.

Dot.

Dot.

Yun-Hee coughed.

"Class dismissed," Sir Taiga announced as he put his chalk down.

All at the same time, the three students seated at the back expressed their relief through a heavy sigh. They packed their bags and rose from their seats to depart from the classroom.

Before they could leave, the Principal gave them one last piece of information. The news shocked them.

"Be back here at eight o'clock."

"What?" the three asked in bewilderment. Mi-Young had no response.

"You still have one session to go."

Yun-Hee scratched the back of her head. "But, we have to-"

Principal Matthew interrupted Yun-Hee. "We have informed your parents of the situation of the school, your participation in the special five, and your special school schedules." He distributed folders containing the students' weekly schedules.

"...Night classes?" Natalie thought aloud as she flipped through the pages.

"With the consent of your parents, we have decided to provide each one of you a room to stay in for the rest of the year." Principal Matthew fixed his eyes at Leon, who was sending him a fierce stare.

"Parents? What parents?" Leon spat out with spite and hatred.

"Except yours, that is," the Principal corrected. The others grew silent after hearing that. "All of you are allowed to leave and return to your homes whenever you wish to, but it is highly recommended that you use the campus' dormitory. It is easily accessible from the academy building and will not hinder with your daily schedules. Never will you be late for class again. We ensure that you will-"

"You don't need to explain that far. I'm not staying anyway," Mi-Young broke in, adjusting her glasses. She disrespectfully withdrew in the middle of the Principal's speech and walked out the classroom. Principal Matthew coughed and continued, "Will the three of you abide with our proposal?"

Yun-Hee and Natalie were silent for a moment but they eventually nodded. Staying at the luxurious school dorm was a privilege. Meanwhile, Leon was staring outside the window. Everyone looked at him after he gave no prompt response. "Leon, are you-"

"No," he rejected bluntly, waving his hand.

"Is there a problem?" The Principal wanted to know the reason behind his answer.

"I have more important matters to attend to."

Principal Matthew nodded disappointedly, both at himself and at Leon. "I'm sorry. I have forgotten." He produced two cards from his pocket and handed one to each of the two girls. "These are your room keys."

Her eyes never leaving Leon for more than a second, Natalie flipped it from one side to another. "Room 1004."

Yun-Hee glanced at her. "Room 1005. We're neighbors."

"Your rooms are located on the tenth floor. Everything is included. The bed sheets are replaced every Wednesdays and Sundays, as well as the toiletries. Cold and hot water are ready and available. Quick dial options are available for room service, emergency situations and direct access to other rooms. There are already ten sets of standard uniform with your name patch inside the closet. Please contact me if you have any problem with the size. A small basket is placed outside of each room for your used clothes for the laundry service. The baskets are collected everyday and are returned three days after at maximum. Now, let me-" The Principal took a halt from his blabbering, er, talking when he sighted Natalie looking over his shoulder. He turned around and saw Leon leaving through the door. He sighed and spun back. Yun-Hee suddenly bowed before him and ran after Leon.

Yun-Hee caught up with him on the campus grounds. "Ya! Chingu!" She stopped and panted after calling her friend.

Leon glanced behind his back, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

"Where are you going?"

He raised his hand at her before he paced at the gate's general direction.

Natalie walked out of the school building and stopped beside Yun-Hee. "Where is he going?"

"He didn't say."

"Don't worry about him. He's always like that." Yun-Hee turned to her side and smiled at Natalie. "My name's Yun-Hee. You're Natalie, right?"

Natalie nodded.

"Let's go to our rooms, shall we?"

She nodded again. "N-Ne."

They headed to South Concord Academy's first dormitory building. They pushed on the thick bars to open the glass doors and enter the lavish lobby. The first floor was brought to life by a massive gold chandelier mounted on the high ceiling, providing refracted light through an arrangement of glass prisms. On the right was a curved staircase, which consisted of varnished mahogany railings and a unique design of seemingly floating glass platforms as steps, leading to the second floor. In front of the staircase was a multi-layered marble fountain, attracting attention with crystalline running water. Covering the middle aisle of the floor was a gold-bordered crimson carpet made from the finest quality of textile, adding depth to the perfectly white tiled floor. Yun-Hee and Natalie walked across the carpet to the elevator, turning their heads around to have a complete view of the hall. The elevator took them to the tenth floor in a fast but comfortable ride. They took a right turn as soon as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Here they are." Yun-Hee pointed at the silver plate beside two opposite doors with a finger as soon as she saw them.

Natalie swiped her card on the mechanism attached to the doorknob. A red led light flashed and the door clicked open. Yun-Hee did the same. Natalie went inside her room and placed her bag down. It was a one bedroom type, enough to fit at least two students. It was no ordinary dormitory, as expected from a reputable international school. Like their Principal said, everything was complete - there even was a small kitchen inside. From the door, the path branched off into two – one leading to the bedroom and the other main one leading to the largely-spaced living room and the dining room. Cream laminated wooden flooring gave the room a modern, opulent feel, complementing the various vases artistically spread across the room. The lights were hidden behind frames and borders on the ceiling, making an elegant melody of illumination at night. Most of the walls and framings were painted in spotless white. Placed in the northern part of the room was a large wall-to-wall glass window which provided a breathtaking view of Seoul brightly lit up by the vast array of colorful lighted skyscrapers, brilliantly designed structures and flaring streetlights.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Yun-Hee caught Natalie staring outside the window. She joined her and marveled at the sheer beauty of Gangnam district's architecture, technology and culture combined.

"Yes, it is."

"The view in your room is far better than mine."

Natalie raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

Yun-Hee gave a disappointed nod. "Hey, do you want to have dinner outside before we go back to class?"

"A-Are we allowed to do that?"

"Of course. Why not? C'mon!" Yun-Hee took Natalie's arm and dragged her back to the lobby, making sure they locked their rooms before leaving the floor. They exited the campus through the massive steel gates and made their way to a small shop that served purely Korean cuisine. Both of them shared one table, barely distinguishable as students from the large number of people eating at the place. Yun-Hee ordered a Bulgogi for herself and a Bibimbap for her new friend, also paying for both.

"I-I have money," Natalie quickly told.

"Don't worry about it. It's on me."

"...Kamsahamnida," she said, bowing her head inches down.

The dishes were served not more than ten minutes later. As a courtesy and a wish that the customers would enjoy their meal, the waiter garnered a smile and said, "Mani duseyo!" Both girls gave a grateful nod at the waiter before praying. Once done, they took a pair of chopsticks and enjoyed their meal. Accompanying their ordered dishes were nice hot cups of tea for the cold climate. It was already Spring time, but Winter seemed to hang over.

Taking a spoonful of vegetables, Natalie looked outside the window. A few cars passed, their headlights flashing into the blinding darkness. She also saw a suspicious man with heavy clothing walk by. The man barged into the restaurant and directly headed to the cashier. He took out a gun and aimed it at the cashier's head.

"This is a holdup!"

Screaming and running ensued. The man blocked the exit, wielding his gun.

"The money, now!" he yelled, waving the lethal weapon at the customers.

The cashier quickly took out the bills from the cashier register and placed them inside a plastic bag. The man perceived that he had an enemy hidden in the crowd of people and took the necessary precautions to ensure his escape.

"I want that girl to give it to me." He pointed at Natalie. She hesitated.

"Hurry or I'll shoot you!" That sentence made her running toward the cashier and take the plastic to the man. She couldn't help but notice that the plastic bag was extremely heavy. There was a lot of money inside, considering the size and weight of it.

The robber grabbed her by the neck and pointed the gun at her head. "Don't even think about it." He was talking to a cop in the mass of customers who was about to call for reinforcements using his phone. "This girl dies if anyone of you report to the police."

He slowly exited the shop, still holding Natalie as hostage, and went inside a black car that immediately throttled out of everybody's sight. Yun-Hee was the first one to run out of the shop. She looked around, trying to spot where the man had gone. Panicking, she took out her cell phone from her pocket and dialed the police hot-line.

"A-Annyeong haseyo..."

The officer on the other end of the line choked on the coffee he was sipping. He immediately called the other officers' attention. They hurriedly wore bullet-proof vests, armed themselves with pistols, and marched off outside, forming four groups of five to divide themselves into separate vehicles. A sixteen year-old with wild, black hair was the last one to enter a police car. His eyes were as determined as a wolf's and as fierce as a lion's.

The alternate flashing of red and blue and the alerting sound of sirens filled the area as police vehicles arrived in front of the Korean restaurant where the holdup took place. An officer stepped out from one of the vehicles and approached Yun-Hee.

"They escaped around ten minutes ago. Here's an artist's sketch of the criminal. He used a black Honda City and went that way." Yun-Hee, gifted with the arts of drawing and painting, had planned in advance and made the sketch of the robber. The police thanked her for her help and information. The group of cars sped towards north. Yun-Hee followed the vehicles disappear into the far void of the night with her eyes, only able to hope for Natalie's wellbeing.

Meanwhile, Natalie was bound with ropes inside the black getaway vehicle. Her hands and feet were tied tightly to her back. A cloth passed through her mouth and was knotted around the back of her neck to silence her. The two criminals were seated in the front. The man who did the actual robbery glanced at Natalie, who was squirming on the back seat. He smiled at his partner.

"Hey, Robert, what are we gonna do with the girl?"

Robert, the man driving, snorted. "Butcher her and sell her?"

Natalie's eyes widened with horror.

"I'm serious."

"Call her parents for ransom. Get her phone."

The other man unfastened his seatbelt and transferred to the back. He tried her pockets but they were empty.

"No phone."

Robert sighed.

Natalie wasn't sure if leaving her phone in her bag in her room was a good idea.

"Hey, she's a hottie. Maybe we could, you know..."

Robert laughed, his voice gurgling. The other man grinned at Natalie as he a made a move on her. She tried to scream for help, but no sound came out.

"_Leon!_" His name was the first thought, the first thing, the first word that came into her mind.

The man unbuttoned her blazer slowly as to build his own anticipation.

"_Help!_"

She flailed wildly but because her limbs were tied, she couldn't do anything.

"_Please!_"

The man aimed for her sweater vest next. She closed her eyes, fear consuming her like wildfire.

Then, the man driving yelled. Suddenly, the vehicle crashed as the strident sound of sirens faded in. The robber was flung back to the front while Natalie tumbled down off the seat.

The door opened.

Natalie couldn't believe what her eyes saw.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Minor cliffhanger. Really, really minor. Or not even a cliffhanger at all, just a random event.

**Side-Notes**: To the majority of you who don't know what the Korean words mean, look for context clues. Don't be confused and just ignore them. I know you're better than that. Annyeonghaseyo is hello, hi, whatever. Kamsahamnida is thank you. Ya(!) can mean a lot of things like hey(!), to call the attention of others...I don't know. Heck, I'm not even one percent Korean. How should I know? Chingu means friend, if my sources are correct. All of these are included to make the story feel more realistic. Sometimes I feel ridiculous when I type the lines of the characters outside the English-speaking academy in English. If I only had a friend who could both speak Korean and English, I could put more appropriate lines...but then again, most people wouldn't understand anymore. Bleh. Enough blabbering. On to the next chapter. Turn the page.


	7. What's A Tryst?

**Author's Notes**: Here's episode eight.

Episode 7

What's A Tryst?

Then, the man driving yelled. Suddenly, the vehicle crashed as the strident sound of sirens faded in. The robber was flung back to the front while Natalie tumbled down off the seat.

The door opened. Two hands lifted her and carried her out of the car. Natalie couldn't believe her eyes. There her knight was, carrying her into the blinding light of the night. Her feet were propped on solid ground. She felt two hands untie her as the other police commanders arrested the two criminals and rendered them harmless with handcuffs, pushing them against the doors the getaway car.

Indescribable thoughts and feelings overwhelmed her. Natalie felt the weight on her chest being lifted as Leon gripped her shoulders firmly yet soothingly. She felt very vulnerable, and she wanted his comfort terribly. Without thinking, she threw herself forward and hugged him. She buried her face into his chest as tears took over. Leon stiffened at first, but he eventually returned her hug. He broke off and temporarily handed Natalie over to a sergeant.

"Release him!" Leon ordered a lower ranked official as he came to the crashed car. His eyes blazed like flaming cinders and his hands blanched as they formed into tight fists. He walked towards the robber. He grabbed him by the collar and forced eye contact.

"Are you her boyfriend, huh?" the robber asked smugly. The other criminal, Robert, laughed despite their position and imminent imprisonment.

Natalie gasped at what Leon did next.

The other policemen stared in shock.

Leon gave the defenseless criminal a blatant punch. The blow tore out two front teeth as it sent the man plummeting to the ground.

Not able to use his hands, the man stood up with his upper body strength and countered with a kick. It was easily dodged by Leon. He caught the attacker's leg with both hands and kicked the man's other knee cap, making him scream in agonizing pain. One of the policemen swore he heard something snap. All of the officers were glued to the ground. Not even a single one was brave enough to stop Leon. Then, he grabbed the man by the neck again and dragged him in front of Natalie.

Natalie's words were choppy. "What are you-" She gasped, covering her mouth, and took a step back.

Leon punched the man, with more strength this time. The man fell face-first on the floor. He picked him up and punched him again.

"Stop it..."

Leon didn't listen to her. The man was lying on the pavement, groaning in pain. He pulled the man by the leg and slammed his face into the front bumper of a police car. Blood dripped down from the steel. A fraction of the policemen couldn't bear to watch anymore so they went inside their respective vehicles and waited. Some covered their eyes and shook their heads in pity.

The robber was barely breathing. Leon picked the man up and connected raging strikes with the man's almost indistinguishable face again and again and again, until blood dripped down from his own knuckles.

"Stop, please."

Leon grabbed a pipe and swung at the robber's head. Blood painted the floor.

"Stop it!" she yelled, finally catching his attention.

Leon stopped and regained his proper state of mind. Seeing another person's blood on his hands almost drove him into insanity. It was a good thing his anger prevailed over it. Disappointed with himself losing control, Leon threw the pipe and the man aside and leaned on the police vehicle, out of breath.

"Not a word to anyone," he told Natalie in deadly earnest.

A trembling nod was all Natalie could do.

Later at the police station, Natalie sat silently in a corner as the squad of policemen discussed two separate matters. After a unanimous decision, the robbers were to be confined in jail. One was going to die a day or two anyway after what Leon did to him. Leon's sentence for assaulting a handcuffed criminal was still being decided.

"The law declares that Lieutenant Chatelier's actions will cost him his position, as well as his duty being a police officer," an officer argued.

Leon and Natalie exchanged glances.

He sighed.

She bit her lip.

Natalie felt like everything was her fault. She couldn't even look at Leon straight in the eye. He was stabbed twice because of her. He was going to get fired because of her. His life was a mess because of her. She kept beating herself up with these negative thoughts.

Standing up from his seat, Leon stripped his officer uniform and slammed it on the table in front of the officers. He turned in his badge with the rest of his belongings as a lieutenant.

"Do what you want. I was allowed to join only because of special conditions anyway." Leon turned to Natalie and checked on her.

"We should think about this thoroughly. If he hadn't told us to turn off our sirens, the criminals would've noticed us and escape again, right? Those two had been on our wanted list for quite a while and they escaped from us many times already. You might think Lieutenant Leon's only a boy, but he's got the mind, body and determination for it," Captain Kim, the squad leader, declared. He earned a smile from Leon after his brief speech.

"But Captain, he almost _killed_-"

Leon unfocused his hearing so he couldn't hear what they were talking about. He didn't care anymore. He knelt beside Natalie and looked at her straight in the eye. "Do you have a cell phone?"

She shook her head, still laden with refracted shock. Moreover, she was scared that Leon was angry at her, blaming her. But, his eyes spoke of something else rather than anger. Concern. She was instantly distracted. She felt her left hand being firmly squeezed by his. She held on to his hand like it was her lifeline.

Leon placed a phone in Natalie's other hand. "Tell them you're at the police station. The officers will explain to them what happened."

She accepted the phone with trembling fingers. Seeing her current condition, Leon sighed again. Natalie had nearly been driven over the edge of psychological stress after two consecutive incidents. Or so he thought.

"A-Annyeong?" came Miss Song's voice from the phone's small speakers.

"I-I'm...a-at the police station."

"W-What's wrong?"

Recognizing her inability to speak clearly, Leon took the phone from her cold hands. He threw it over to Captain Kim.

"Ma'am, your daughter has been a victim of a holdup earlier thi-"

"H-Hold on, what?" Everybody could hear the mother's voice even though she was talking through the speakers of a cell phone. Captain Kim had to quickly pull away the phone from his ear to avoid becoming deaf. He lowered his voice and spoke slowly to calm Miss Song.

After a few minutes of clarifying and explaining, the call ended. Captain Kim returned the phone to the young lieutenant. Carefully placing the phone back on the table, Leon moved to Natalie and held her arm, transferring his courage to her through his touch.

"Your mother will come shortly. I have to leave."

Before he could change his direction and leave, a soft hand grabbed his. Leon immediately looked back at her. Her face was marked with idle tears. "D-Don't leave me, please."

The grip tightened.

"Please, stay." The two words were hardly audible.

"I-"

Natalie pulled him down to sit beside her. She wrapped her arms around his before he could stand again. She let her head freely drop to his shoulder as she sobbed her tears away. Leon jumped a hurdle of claustrophobia and put a hand across Natalie's shoulder. Oddly enough, she felt comfort with his arms around her. His collar was down and much to her surprise, he tucked her head under his chin. Though it was cold, Leon's warmth soothed her in ways she couldn't explain.

The clock ticked eight when Miss Song, Principal Matthew and Sir Taiga barged inside the police station. Leon saw them and distanced himself from Natalie, sighing for the third time in the process. Miss Song was the only one who was supposed to know about it. Unfortunately for him, two other people had to join.

"Natalie!" Miss Song called as she ran to her daughter and gave her a hug.

Sir Taiga and Principal Matthew were welcomed by the policemen. Handshakes and greetings were stopped when they found Leon sitting at the back of the group of officers. Leon glanced at the two teachers before looking at the floor and shaking his head in irritation. There was no way out of this mess. "_This is going to become complicated._"

Captain Kim approached the three adults and took the courtesy of explaining what had happened.

"We really should protect Natalie," Miss Song said after receiving the full details from the captain.

"All the more she should stay at the dormitory," replied Principal Matthew.

Miss Song gave the Principal a bewildered look. "What?"

"If she stays within the campus grounds, it'll be safer for her."

"That's because?"

"Outsiders will have no chance to make contact with her."

"I think that's going overboard. Isolation is an exaggeration."

"It's not a complete isolation. What do you suggest then?"

Sir Taiga emptied his container of attention for Leon and joined the conversation. "Get someone to take care of her." He looked at Leon once more, making everyone else look at him also. Leon slowly looked up from the ground and tilted his head sideways to them.

"Leon will do it," Sir Taiga declared.

Leon's eyes narrowed. "_What?_"

All the people, including Natalie, raised their heads and questioned the teacher with wide eyes.

"Make sure you're there wherever and whenever."

Leon glared at Sir Taiga with prideful onyxes. "Who do you think you are to order me around?"

"The school owner's brother and your teacher. Do it or you're expelled from the special class."

Principal Matthew, not expecting such a statement, glanced at Sir Taiga, so fast that he cracked his neck. "You're the school owner's-"

Sir Taiga disregarded the Principal's question with a short glare.

Leon had an answer up his sleeve. "You can't do that. Your brother chose me to-"

"I told him to include you in the five."

The teachers gaped in unstable perplexity at Sir Taiga.

"And why?" Leon asked with cocked eyebrows.

"That's none of your business. It's either you do as I say or you're out."

"Tch." Excluding his pride, Leon wanted to be in the special class for a reason. He was determined not to fail that very reason. Defeated, he settled his gaze back to the floor. "Fine."

"Here's your key. Escort her back to the dormitory," Principal Matthew commanded, giving Room 1003's card to Leon. The male student scratched the back of his head. He stood up and gestured Natalie to stand up.

"Can't you see that she can't walk? Carry her!" Sir Taiga growled, effectively making Leon follow his orders.

Leon dropped one knee and faced his back at Natalie. "Get on." She weakly put her hands around his neck. In one fluid motion, Leon stood up and grabbed her legs from behind for support, carrying her in a piggyback ride. Miss Song stared in stupor as the two left the station.

"Was that a good idea?" she asked.

"It will help shape that boy's personality. I assure you, you will see development in his character, both as a person and as a student, soon enough." Sir Taiga's answer was confident, upheld by his own experience.

Later, Leon was heaving a sleepy, tired and frazzled Natalie on his back as he made his way to South Concord Academy on foot. It was freezing cold without his thick school coat but Natalie shared her body heat with him and so did he with her. He dismissed sulking, thinking that Natalie was feeling much worse than he was. He pulled her hand across his neck for a better grip. He didn't want her to slip off his back and fall to the ground. Natalie was resting her chin on Leon's shoulder as she was being carried around. Her head lolled to his from time to time and strands of her long hair tickled his neck. Her perfume intoxicated him and his thoughts, not allowing him to think of anything and anyone else.

He glanced at his left and quickly met her face. "Tired?" He never realized how perfect her face was until now.

"Mmm," she replied in a soft, heavy-breathed whisper, her voice drained of energy. Her eyes were already closed. Her breathing was steady, and her heartbeat was constant. That, Leon could tell from feeling the rise and fall of her chest against his back.

"Do you think I'm a burden to you?" Her random question caught him off guard.

"A burden?" Leon weighed the word in his mind. "I don't think so."

"Really?" She jiggled on his back excitedly and her arms tightened around his neck.

"Y-Khch-Y-Yes," he choked out as he clutched her forearm.

Natalie giggled and relaxed her arms. Leon breathed in sweet air. "Don't speak. Just rest."

"Getting into trouble isn't so bad after all."

"Hmm?" Again, he looked to his side to glance at her face.

"I even get a piggyback ride from you."

He smirked. She then yawned right into his ear. He fidgeted and she chuckled.

"Sorry."

He nodded a reply. "We're almost there." Leon adjusted Natalie on his back and quickened his pace. The night was not safe for them.

"Can you walk just a little bit slower?" Natalie's arms slowly tightened around his neck.

"Why?"

"I...can't sleep."

"Alright."

Leon made his strides smaller. Natalie relaxed her muscles and laid the side of her head on his shoulder. She grinned to herself all the way back to their school. And of course, she didn't sleep.

They soon arrived at the dormitory. Panting, Leon pressed the button on the elevator and went in when it opened. Natalie wasn't heavy but the distance he had covered made him to exert all that he had left. He dashed to the room with the numbers '1004' written beside it and swiped the card. He carefully placed Natalie down on her bed, tucked her in and covered her with a blanket. She simply stared at him with half-opened eyes as he sat down beside her and looked out the large window adjacent to her bed. The moon was beautiful, like a pale crescent of soap surrounded by glimmering bubbles of stars.

Leon fixed his eyes on her. "Close your eyes and sleep."

She gave him a smile. "Kamsahamnida."

"Bo?" he asked. "For what?"

"For everything." Natalie peered at him under the pink sheets. They shared a brief silence as they smiled at each other. She broke the silence with a soft yawn. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Don't worry about that."

Ten or so minutes later, Natalie finally fell asleep. Silently walking up to the side of her bed, Leon allowed himself one last look at Natalie before he would return to his room. She was intimately attractive. She was like a doll - possessing both beauty and the innate ability to act cute at the same time. He found himself smirking when she tossed and turned to his side, her lips twisting and turning. Now that he had a complete view of her face, she didn't happen to look well.

Leon lightly placed a hand on her forehead.

"_A fever._"

He quickly withdrew it as if he had touched burning coal. He looked at the small clock ticking on the bedside table to check the time.

"_11:16 PM._"

Leon considered calling a teacher for help, but waking them up would make him appear rude and helpless. He decided to deal with the matter himself. Taking out a clean handkerchief from his pocket, he went to the bathroom and rinsed it with cold water. Promptly, he came back to her and placed the wet folded cloth on Natalie's forehead. She shifted and turned from time to time, forcing him to always keep an eye on her and to adjust the handkerchief on her forehead. Every five minutes, he would take the handkerchief to the bathroom, wash it, soak it with enough water and walk back to Natalie to place it on her forehead.

After endless repetitions, Natalie's fever went down. Leon glanced at the clock. More than five hours had passed; it was already 4:31 AM. He knelt on the floor, exhausted beyond measure. His fingers brushed strands of hair away from her eyes. Contented, Leon rested his head on the bed and sank into suspended consciousness.

Two hours after, Natalie woke up to a bright morning with renewed energy. She slowly opened her eyes as she stretched her neck and back in a perfect arch. She smiled, letting her mouth open slightly to reveal her pearly white lower teeth. She saw Leon soundly asleep on the side of her bed. Her cheeks and lips turned upwards in a pleased, amused way. She grabbed her pillow and lied down, observing Leon face to face.

Before she could even realize it, she caught herself leaning closer to his peaceful form. Her heartbeat grew faster and faster, though she couldn't understand why. The gap between their faces became even smaller. She swallowed nervously when she realized what she was doing.

"_Get a hold of yourself, girl._ _It's just a way to thank him._"

Without regrets, she closed her eyes and closed the space between their faces. She did it slowly, pushing her head front bit by bit, fighting against the tugging on her senses of his proximity. She took a deep breath and moved forward one last time to give him a small peck on the cheek.

"What are you doing?"

Natalie quickly opened her eyes and met Leon's gaze. They were nose to nose, eye to eye. Natalie's jaw dropped into a shocked expression and she instantly blushed. Leon tried his best not to smirk at seeing the embarrassed female in front of him for her sake.

Natalie, offended, puffed her cheeks out angrily and threw a pillow at his face. She stomped into the bathroom and locked herself inside, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could.

"Jerk!" Leon heard her yell. Smirking, he got up on his feet and fixed the bed.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I won't type a long note anymore, promise. This story's purpose is to promote Seoul and everyone, everything inside it. Music, culture, architecture, art, etc. I apologize to the Korean people out there if the molesters and crime-doers had gone overboard and somehow offended you, if they have. My apologies. Eh. Just keep reading anyway. Wait, I'm not forcing you to read. I'm only encouraging you to. :)


	8. A Three Sided Polygon

**Author's Notes**: After more than a week of a sudden, deep, and unexplainable depression, I thank the Lord for giving me the power to write again. I was so sad I couldn't even watch TV. I simply stared at nothing as the time went by slowly. Now that I think of it, how retarded is that? I didn't know what caused it, but if I were to spend everyday of my life like that, I think I'd die. Lonely and alone. It was complete, horrible, murderous torture. This episode builds up the drama a bit. Or so I think. Here's episode nine.

Episode 8

A Three Sided Polygon

_The second day of school, March 3, 7:21 AM_

Steam escaped from the bathroom as the door slid open. Natalie came out, her hair already shampooed, dried and fixed. She always wore the same hairstyle - her brown locks were curled in progression, side-swept to the left, and her fringes dangled around eye level. As she checked her hair in front of the mirror, she found her clothes spread on the bed, which was already made-up for her. She looked around for her classmate. Leon was missing; he had left to provide her with some needed privacy. Natalie proceeded with putting on her uniform, complete with her signature black and white checkered high-heeled shoes and black knee-length leggings. She slung her small bag across her shoulder as she headed toward the door. She turned the knob and stepped out of her room.

"What took you so long?"

Natalie jumped. Leon was waiting outside, leaning on the wall beside her door.

"Let's go," he stated flatly in his usual deep tone, grabbing her hand before he made an advanced toward the elevator.

"W-What about breakfast?" she asked as she stumbled about. When she realized that they were holding hands, she decided that breakfast could wait.

He answered anyway. "We don't have time for that."

Leon shoved Natalie inside the elevator and pressed the button with the letter 'G'. They ran to the school building in a hurry. Natalie and Leon sat down on their respective seats. The teacher had not arrived yet but Mi-Young and Yun-Hee were already there waiting for them. Yun-Hee approached Natalie and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"Jaljinaeyo," Natalie muttered. "I'm fine."

"I'm really sorry about last night," Yun-Hee apologized remorsefully. "If I had been more careful, you wouldn't have-"

"I'm fine," Natalie repeated, shaking her head.

Yun-Hee went back to her chair with a seed of uncertain guilt. The bell rang and Sir Taiga came inside the classroom on cue, greeting them good morning as he made his way to the center. "Annyeong hashimnikka." He nodded at them and arranged his folders on the teacher's table. "Today is the start of your first lesson."

Natalie snapped her head up. Yun-Hee questioned, "Today?"

"What I taught you yesterday was only a refresher of everything you have studied during middle school. Now, sit straight!"

The slouching students jolted up their seats.

"Your first lesson is about Math," he said, eyeing them one by one. "The national exam will be a multiple choice type of test. One question, four choices. In the course of this program, I will teach you the various techniques to perfect the exam."

Yun-Hee had doubts. "Perfect the exam? That's impossible."

"If you're going to give up now, might as well get out of this room."

Yun-Hee regretted her words and just listened.

"You will be time-pressured when taking the test. All of you need to expect that, especially you, Leon."

The three girls nodded. Leon crossed his arms defensively. His teacher didn't need to point out his weakness to him, he thought in all sullenness.

"First, I have a question for you. If you know the answer but you're not sure, what do you do?" Sir Taiga glared at Natalie, which was his way of calling a student to answer.

"I...would...solve again?"

PACK!

Everyone winced. "Wrong!" Sir Taiga struck the board with his stick. "You are wasting time if you do that."

"Are you saying that we should guess?" Mi-Young inquired, eyebrow raised arrogantly.

"Did I say that?"

"No, but-"

"Then, no. Most of the time, your first answer is the right one. Trust your instincts. Doubting will only lessen your time for answering. Understood?" He had his eyes at Yun-Hee. She nodded and acknowledged what Sir Taiga was trying to point out to her.

"Yes sir."

"Louder!"

"YES SIR!"

Sir Taiga paced from left to right as he weighed the stick in his right hand. "The key to achieve a high score in the Math portion is speed and mastery." He stopped and turned. "Yun-Hee."

"Y-Yes?"

"One plus one."

"T-Two."

"That is mastery. You should have that kind of speed when taking the test. You no longer think of it. The answer comes out automatically." He walked to the right. "Let's first tackle fraction and decimal techniques." He turned. "Leon."

Leon glanced up at his teacher.

"What is 0.04 in fraction form?"

"..."

Five seconds passed.

"1/25."

Sir Taiga shook his head. "You wasted five seconds of my life."

Leon glared at him. The teacher took it as a compliment since he smirked at his student in return. "What you do is look for the number that you need to multiply to the decimal to make it one."

"What?" Natalie requested Taiga to repeat his words.

"What do you multiply 0.04 by to get one?"

"Twenty-five?"

"Right. So the answer is 1/25. That simple. Now, fraction form of 0.125."

Natalie bit her lip. "One over...eight."

"Note the time difference. Five seconds and one second."

The students nodded and took notes on the technique. It would come in handy in the national exams.

"Now that you know how to do that, you'll have no trouble dealing with numbers and small decimals. Example, 4 multiplied by 0.125. Instead of multiplying those two, change 0.125 into a fraction, which is 1/8. Multiply that by 4, simplify, and you get 1/2 which is also the same as 0.5. Easy, right?"

The four nodded again, though it was easier to multiply the two numbers without converting.

"Solve this as fast as you can. 0.08 multiplied by 0.125."

"One over one-hundred," Mi-Young answered before a second could pass.

"Good. Memorize the pairs of numbers that when multiplied with each other is equal to a hundred. Five a day."

Yun-Hee scratched the side of her head with a finger. "Five a day?"

"You want ten a day?"

"Never mind."

"Remember, speed and mastery."

After an hour of answering exercises, the three students at the back were already brain-dead. Mi-Young was handling the decimals and fractions like they were single-digit numbers.

"Four-fifths minus three-tenths is..."

Yun-Hee glanced at Natalie and started an eye-conversation.

"_Can you still keep up?" _Yun-Hee asked, glancing at their teacher.

"_I guess so..._" Natalie replied with a shrug.

Yun-Hee dropped her shoulders and sighed. _"All I hear is 'bla bla bla'_."

Sir Taiga noticed that the students were having mixed reactions. Two of them were staring at each other as if they were having a conversation through eye contact. One of two students looked outside the window afterwards while the other played with her pencil and paid no attention. The last two were listening, but they seemed to be bored.

Sir Taiga dropped his chalk and padded to the door, throwing it open. "Everyone, out!"

The students blinked at him. Now he had their attention.

"Out!"

They got out of their chairs and hurried out of the classroom. Sir Taiga brought them to the baseball field located at the western area of the campus. Grumbling, the students lined up before him. The temperature outside was an outstanding five degrees Celsius. The females were shivering due to their lack of proper clothing and longer skirts. The three girls looked at the only male of the class, their eyes filled with desire. Leon shrugged their gazes off. He only had one coat to offer and he didn't want to pick between the three of them.

"Since the normal way of teaching isn't serving as a good means of educating you, you will have to take this instead. As I said, the keys to answering Math problems are-"

"Speed and mastery," they all filled in.

"What are we going to do?" Yun-Hee asked impatiently.

"I'll pitch, you'll swing."

"I thought this was Mathematics," Mi-Young said matter-of-factly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Let me finish first. Listen, the bat will be on the ground-"

Yun-Hee interrupted. "How can we-"

"I said LISTEN first!"

Yun-Hee cringed and closed her mouth.

"The bat will be on the ground. I will give you a question and then throw the ball. You may only pick up the bat after you have answered. Clear?"

"Yes sir," they all said, forgetting the questions they still had in mind.

Sir Taiga threw Leon a look that gave him the idea that he was the first to try the unusual task. So, the male student walked to the first base. Leon took a deep breath and got ready. Sir Taiga shouted, "5 divided by 0.025!" He immediately pressed the button on the auto-pitching machine. The ball flew at Leon.

The three female students winced involuntarily as the baseball hit Leon's mid-section, the impact harder than they had expected. Leon couldn't think of the answer fast enough and paid the consequences. Worried, Natalie bit her lip, knowing full well that the ball struck Leon's wound. Using the bat to lever himself to his feet, Leon glared at Sir Taiga, challenging him.

The teacher inserted a ball inside the machine. "600 multiplied by 0.8!" He pressed the button. A ball rocketed forward.

"Four hundred eighty!" Leon picked the bat from the brown soil, stepped back and hit the ball, unbelievably sending it into a home run. His classmates applauded and cheered as he walked back to them.

Natalie shot him an anxious gaze and glanced at the area where the ball had afflicted him with a worse wound. "Are you okay?"

He nodded though his solid, solemn mask was cracked by pain.

Sir Taiga inserted a ball into the machine. "Next."

Both Yun-Hee and Natalie stepped forward. They looked at each other for a moment, judging who should be the better one to redeem Leon. Their staring had a one twentieth of a minute's duration.

"0.165 multiplied by 6!"

Startled, the two females turned their heads. The clever valedictorian had sneaked past Yun-Hee and Natalie while they were distracted.

"One."

Mi-Young threw the bat into the air with a lift from her foot. She grabbed it with one hand and spun around, swatting the ball with an elegant follow-through, her hip tilted on one side. She pushed her eyeglasses against the bridge of her nose and flicked her hair. Boys would swoon, yes, _swoon_, or froth, whichever you prefer, over seeing her do that.

"What do you think of that?" Mi-Young asked Leon's opinion as she walked to his side, sending a toying smile to him.

"You did great," Leon replied.

Yun-Hee's eye twitched. "_Did Leon just flirt back to the flirt with a flirt?_"

"Setting aside that your answer was shorter than mine, giving you ample time to get the bat and show off, that is."

Yun-Hee and Natalie smirked and stifled their laugher while Mi-Young's smile fell off her face.

"Hmph," she huffed, glaring at Leon. Proud of his remark, Leon, too, smirked. He approached Natalie and gave her a motivational push in the back. She glanced at him behind her shoulder and reluctantly went to the first base. Leon slightly crouched in a ready position after catching Sir Taiga's addressing eye contact.

"20/25, decimal form!" The button was pressed.

It all happened in a single blink. Natalie snapped her eyes shut as her mind failed to come up with an answer.

"0.8!" Someone else answered the question for her. Leon sprinted towards her and dove for the base, protecting her knees from getting hit by the fast projectile. She slowly opened her eyes to a peek and saw Leon kneeling in front of her.

"Again."

Leon stepped back. Sir Taiga shouted, "10/80, decimal form!"

"0.125!" Natalie swung the bat when the time was right.

The ball went straight to Sir Taiga's crotch. Straight. Into. His. _Crotch_.

Natalie slapped a hand on her mouth. "_Sorry!_"

Yun-Hee gasped. _"Uh oh._"

Mi-Young had an amused expression. "_Home run._"

Leon's left leg twitched.

Ball against balls. Sir Taiga continued on, as if he had felt nothing. "Next!" Knowing it was her turn, Yun-Hee marched to the assigned place. She couldn't focus well thanks to certain thoughts about balls. Baseballs. Basketballs. Volleyballs. All sorts of balls.

"0.125 multiplied by 6!"

"0.75!" The ball was too quick for her to bring up the bat and swing at it.

Finally, everyone was done; the students exhaled loudly in relief and started walking back to their classroom, alleviated of the torture.

"Where are you going?" Sir Taiga shouted. "Ten more rounds!"

The four whined. "Ten more?" Natalie frowned at the number. She started hating the number ten there onward.

"No complaining. The more you do, the less time your lunch break will have."

"Do you want to freeze to death?" Yun-Hee answered back.

Sir Taiga took off his coat and tossed it to her. Yun-Hee grumbled and put it on. Mi-Young and Natalie glanced at Leon, their eyes focused on his coat. He avoided their eyes and distanced himself from them. "My coat."

The students did another round, until it was Natalie's turn again.

A question. A button. A ball.

Another home run. Straight into Sir Taiga's crotch.

BRACK.

Leon was actually sure he heard that. It wasn't his imagination like last time. Now, Sir Taiga writhed on the ground in pain. The four stared, not knowing what to do.

"Er...let's just pretend that didn't happen..." Yun-Hee whistled to her classmates. They left the hopefully-not-sterile-after-this-incident teacher and went to the cafeteria for some lunch.

Later at the canteen, Yun-Hee tottered to her seat, fanning herself with a thin notebook. It was cold but their sweating made their body temperature rise tenfold. She threw her arms across the table and let her head fall by its own accord. "I think we're going to fail."

Natalie sat opposite to her and sighed tiredly before asking, "Why?"

Yun-Hee fixed her posture and continued fanning herself. "With all these extracurricular activities, we'll be long dead even before the exams. And I think we took away Sir Taiga's chances of having a family."

Natalie chuckled. Her eyes flickered to Leon, who was sitting far away from them. He occupied a table for six, sharing it with no one but himself. He wasn't eating either; he was just staring at the table, locked deep in thought. This she could deduce from his creased, wrinkled eyebrows. She was learning how to read him bit by bit and she was doing pretty well.

"Excuse me," Natalie uttered, grabbing her lunch box and quickly heading towards the lone male. Yun-Hee turned around in her chair and tried to find out where Natalie was going.

Natalie walked to Leon's table and observed him.

"May I?" Her deep yet clear voice pulled Leon back to reality. He shot his head up and looked at the disturbance with a glare. He had not noticed her come near.

Natalie, standing adjacent to him, raised her eyebrows. "May I?" She gestured to the chair.

After registering her question, Leon nodded and went back to his secluded world of solitude.

Natalie took the seat nearest to him. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"No."

"Why?"

He replied with silence.

"Leon?" She leaned forward and slightly tilted her head to the side, placing her head directly in his line of sight. "Leon?"

"What?" he snarled. Natalie jumped back to her seat, intimidated. He immediately regretted his outburst after seeing her pitiful, sulky pout. His expression quickly went back to normal.

"You're so emo," she muttered under her breath.

Leon felt a nerve pop out on his forehead. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." She smiled at him. He scowled. "...Aren't you going to eat?" she asked again.

"I've already answered that."

"Why not then?"

Leon sighed heavily and gave her a glare. "I don't have the money to buy food."

She blinked at him, choosing whether to believe him or laugh at his joke. He blinked idly back. He was tired and lacking sleep. Two and a half hours of rest was not enough after five hours of taking care of a sick girl during the wee hours of the day.

"You don't have money?"

"I don't."

"Don't your parents give you any?"

"No."

"How do you survive?"

"Being a lieutenant."

"They give you salary?"

"Yes."

"Do you pay for things by yourself?"

"I do."

"How about your tuition fee? You also paid for that?"

"I did."

"Why are you here if you're not going to have lunch?"

"You ask too many questions."

"I'm curious."

"Curious?"

"Interested."

"In what?"

"In you."

Leon turned his head fully at her direction. "What?"

Natalie breathed a soft sound of weariness. She unpacked her lunch box and positioned it in front of him. "If you don't take care of yourself, you'll get sick." She had her head tilted upwards and her eyebrow cocked with mocking confidence.

Leon pushed the trays of food away from him. "No, thank you."

"Eat." She pushed it back. She stuck her lower lip out in a cute pout, tempting him. Nevertheless, he schooled his expression.

"I said no." The plastic containers were stacked and returned.

"Eat."

"No."

"Eat."

"No."

"Eat."

"No."

"Eat?"

"...No."

"Please?"

Leon sighed.

A grin forced itself unto Natalie's lips. "Just one bite." She opened the lid, scooped a clump of rice using her silver spoon and leaned forward, raising it in front of Leon's mouth. "Say 'Aaahhh'..."

Her antics collected the attention of the students inside the spacious canteen. Many people from far and near were looking at them, making him feel utterly uncomfortable. If he was not mistaken, he saw some girls standing up from their seats. Not from curiosity, but from something else. Anger. Jealousy.

"Aaahhh," she demonstrated, opening her mouth. Leon opened his mouth a fraction of an inch.

"Bigger," she said. Leon closed his mouth and glared at the girl. Giggling, Natalie reached out for his jaw, opened it and gave him a spoonful.

"Isn't it good?"

After chewing, he struggled to force the food down his throat. "It tastes awful."

She pouted again. Her cheeks were puffed out, tickling his senses to pinch them. Unable to think of a rebuking statement, she just went with sticking her tongue out at him in all her childish glory.

Leon gave in to her endearing charm and smirked. "It's good."

Natalie smiled. Repeating the steps, she held another spoonful of Korea's staple food in front of him. Leon snatched the spoon from her hand and fed himself. Fortunately, the students went back to their usual chatting afterwards.

When lunch time was done, Leon accompanied Natalie back to her room.

"Bye," she said plainly with one last smile, her face returning to its customary dull and gloomy state. Leon nodded and waited for her to close the door. Hearing the door click close, he spun on his heel and walked past one door to the left.

"_Finally. Sleep._"

Someone tapped him on the back right before he could turn the knob of the door to his own room.

"_God. Why?_" He mentally sighed. His body was becoming heavy, so as his eyelids. He needed to rest.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Yun-Hee requested.

Leon rubbed his temples to clear out his headache. "About what?"

Yun-Hee motioned to the elevator. He swiftly followed her up to the rooftop of the twenty-floor building. They stayed on the corner of the empty plane. They leaned forward on the railings as if reaching for the distant sky.

"I really don't want to talk about this," she began, shifting uncomfortably.

"You've brought me here already, and now you're telling me you don't want to talk about it?" Leon was already cranky. Yun-Hee just smiled at his state of being out-of-character. The smile faded away and was replaced with a serious look.

Yun-Hee drew her wind-blown hair behind her ear with the use of her fingers. "Don't you think you're letting her too close?"

"Who-"

"First, you lost your lieutenant position because of her. Where will you get money now?"

"I-"

"Second, you let her sit with you on your table. We've been friends for...what? Nine years? And you've never even let me come within a few feet of your table. You met her just a few days ago and you allow her to sit with you just like that? You even let her spoon-feed you, for crying out loud!"

"She was-"

"Tell me, am I just overreacting? Over-thinking? Over-caring? Or is what I'm thinking really happening? Tell me, Leon, 'cause I don't know what to think anymore," she finished her rant short of breath. She felt odd, ashamed, and angry all at the same time.

Leon poked her forehead.

She flailed her arms wildly. "What was that for?"

He smirked. "...You're jealous?"

"This is not a good time to be joking around. Be serious."

"Do these eyes not tell you I'm serious?"

One glance at his eyes sent a wave of nervousness crashing over her. His glare was piercing her, looking right into her very soul. Honesty spilled itself out.

"I'm...not jealous. I'm just worried."

Leon arched a brow. "Worried."

"Fine. Geez. I'm jealous."

He smirked again. Yun-Hee gave him a sulky glare. Then, she continued, "I know I'm not supposed to make assumptions and even bring a conversation like this up but I can't let this pass. You seem to be so at ease with her." Her eyes trailed off to the sky. The brief pause gave Leon time to think.

"I've never seen you smile like that before. You're acting too friendly to her. What ever happened to the old Leon who didn't even care if a two year-old was abandoned on the street on a rainy-"

"Do not mix the past with the present," he hissed, spiteful of the memory of that rainy day. "I have changed after all those years."

Yun-Hee sighed, seeing no point in pursuing with the foolish topic. "Never mind. I'm sorry about this. I was just-"

"I know," he said sternly, giving her an understanding pat on the shoulder.

Yun-Hee inhaled slowly then let all the air out in a loud sigh. She entered the elevator with him. As the lift carried them ten floors down, she savored every single moment being close to him. Something inside her knew it was the last chance she would ever have.


	9. The Darker Colors of the Rainbow

**Author's Notes**: I feel so discouraged writing original pieces, like this one. They start out full of ambition and potential, then they drain away into faded photographs. Sometimes, you can gaze at the ocean and understand every single wave that crashes against you, the power of it, the exact time when it'll hit you, things like that. But then, the deep blue disappears without even allowing you to blink as it leaves your side forever. I...don't know what the hell that was supposed to mean. Lol. But, I guess that's the beauty of it: different interpretations from person to person. Ahem. I want to make my own characters and give them a life of their own, but I don't get any inspiration and support for it anymore. I mean, come on. If you're reading this, consider yourself one in a gazillion. It's absurd. No one's reading, but I still want to keep writing. Sigh. How disheartening. And oh yeah, for some reason, I love this chapter's title. It seems so cool and all. _The Darker Colors of the Rainbow_. Kicks butt, right? Or not. I don't know.

Episode 9

The Darker Colors of the Rainbow

_Thursday, March 4, Morning class, 7:02 AM_

"The baseball activity you underwent yesterday was a test of speed. In taking the national test's Math section, speed is very important," Sir Taiga started with an explanation then continued with a few more tips as he wrote some word problems on the chalkboard, "Whenever you encounter a problem you don't know how to answer, mark the number and skip it. Don't waste even a single second." He placed the chalk down and turned to face them. "Solve these within five minutes."

The timer clicked and the four students made their pencils dance across blank papers. Taiga observed the students' ways of solving. Mi-Young looked like she was just drawing effortlessly. Yun-Hee tapped the other end of her pencil on the table whenever she paused to think about a problem she appeared not to know. Leon went through the five questions ceaselessly; his hands and eyes kept moving. Natalie folded and bit her lower lip from time to time, showing clearly of habit, but showed no signs of doubt and lack of knowledge.

The timer reached the time inputted. "Stop. Papers." Taiga collected the written solutions and promptly checked them. He gave them back to their respective owners afterwards. "Mi-Young, four."

"Four?" Mi-Young couldn't believe it. She made a mistake.

"Yun-Hee, three."

The girl smiled. Having only two mistakes was already a big accomplishment.

"Natalie, four."

Natalie nodded and received her paper.

"Leon..." Sir Taiga paused and kept his eyes on the sheet of paper. He transferred his gaze to the student, who glared back at him.

"Five."

Leon cocked the teacher a smug eyebrow as he snappily snatched the paper from him. To Taiga's surprise, Leon went to the board instead of going back to his seat.

"The fifth question is as follows. Alvin calculated his average score in 5 exams to be 85. Later, he noticed that he entered a score of 95 instead of 59. What should be his real average score?" Leon began writing several numbers. "So, we should first get the difference of 95 and 59, which is 36. Since there are five exams, we divide 36 by 5, which is equal to 7.2. The average score is overstated, so we subtract 7.2 from 85. You'll get 77.8. The answer is C." Leon encircled his final answer on the board.

The two female students at the back row, namely Yun-Hee and Natalie, said 'Oh' and changed their answers for future reference. Mi-Young didn't seem pleased. The other two girls clapped as Leon went back to his seat.

"All of you finished answering within the time limit. Good, but not good enough." Sir Taiga erased the writings on the chalkboard.

Yun-Hee scratched the back of her head. Natalie pouted and looked at her paper.

"A fraction of your time should be used in checking. Natalie, did you check your answers?"

"I...didn't have the time."

Taiga nodded. "Exactly. If you checked your multiplication on number three, you could have gotten it right."

Allowing herself some time to go back to the third number, Natalie tracked her eyes down the paper. She was surprised to see that her teacher was right.

"Be more careful sometimes. You need to keep an eye over your carelessness."

"Yes sir."

"If you check a number and see that you made a mistake, check other related problems after getting the right answer on that number," Taiga informed. The students nodded, some of them taking down his words. "Speed is not everything, but it is an essential skill."

Yun-Hee tentatively raised a hand.

"Yes?"

"Is your...erm..." She pointed at his crotch. "Are they alright?"

Sir Taiga accepted the look of apology on Natalie's sweet face. "They're fine."

The girls restrained their laughter. Leon stared out the window. "_To Sir Taiga's future children, I apologize for failing the mission of saving you from hell incarnated as your father._"

XXX

Calming himself through channeling inner silence, Leon took a seat on the table in the school canteen. Even though the cafeteria was bustling with students, he could find tranquility within his mind, helping him think and concentrate on things amidst the raveling noise. The past four hours had passed quickly and it was now time for lunch. It felt ironic when he thought about it. He looked forward to the break time, regardless of the fact that he didn't eat anything.

"Hi Leon." A perkily smiling girl was standing in front of him. He gave her a silent gaze. She flattened her lips, in provocative cuteness, needless to say, and sat down. Giggling excitedly, she placed a rectangular box wrapped in a pink cloth in front of Leon. "I made you lunch."

"No, thank you."

Natalie's smile disappeared from her face in an instant. Disappointment formed into displeased anger. "Hey! I woke up at four o'clock just to make you that!" She folded her arms over her chest, put her lips together in a pout and slightly inclined her head downward. She was terribly adorable without even trying and it was getting harder to resist her charm each time.

"Four in the morning?"

"Yes, four. F, o, u, r. Four." She even held out four fingers for him to see.

Leon smirked and opened the plastic box. A bright grin replaced Natalie's frown as he took the chopsticks and started eating the food she had prepared for him. Leon glanced back at Natalie every after two to three servings of beef, observing that she wasn't having her lunch.

"Where did you get the ingredients for this?" he asked.

"Haven't you looked inside your refrigerator?"

"Are there vegetables and meat inside?"

"...No."

Leon narrowed his eyes. She chuckled.

"I went to the nearest market. I told you, I woke up at-"

Leon slammed his open palm on the table, the force almost toppling the container of rice and beef. "What?"

"I went to-"

"You shouldn't go outside without a teacher's permission."

"I asked for mom's permi-"

"I have to escort you wherever you go. You should have called me."

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. Besides, I didn't want to wake you up early. You've suffered too much for me already." She smiled, coaxing him to eventually do the same.

Diminishing the smile, Leon took a deep breath and scowled after realizing that he had fallen into her trap yet again. "Don't do it again," he ended, finding no other words to say.

Natalie put up a pretty smile aimed at him. "M'kay."

From several tables away, Yun-Hee's grip on her spoon tightened after seeing Leon and Natalie together occupying one table. The grip soon weakened as her knuckles relaxed. She placed the spoon on the table and sighed.

"_I knew it._"

Yun-Hee spun her head forty-five degrees to the left as a man in a black suit entered the canteen. The other students also looked at the man as he skimmed the tables for a certain boy. Whispering and gossiping were the roles of the female students, while finishing the rest of their food and leaving were left for the males. The man stopped in front of Natalie.

"Leon."

Natalie turned around and shrunk under the tall figure. "Sir Taiga?"

Leon replied an automatic response. "What?"

"Come with me. I need to talk to you."

Leon returned the metal chopsticks inside its pouch and repacked the containers. He stood up and gave Natalie a pat on the shoulder as a 'thank you'. He and Taiga went to the third floor of the main school building, where no one was supposed to interfere.

"You didn't specify that you had a lieutenant position when you enrolled."

"You have no right to talk about that. You're not the Principal."

Taiga raised one brow, ready to refute. "The Principal has given me his rights and authority as the school's Principal for a month."

"Lies."

"He left Seoul to finish the matters concerning the last student for the special class."

Leon remembered that they were only four in the classroom. "So?"

"How did you get the officer rank?"

Leon hesitated to answer the question. He took his time and stared far into the sunless periwinkle sky. Taiga waited for him patiently, not even moving a foot from where he stood.

"It was my father's dying wish."

"Ah. Sergeant Chatelier. With all due respect, what did he die of?"

"Colon cancer." Leon couldn't believe he answered that question. Sir Taiga couldn't either.

"I see. He was the captain of the third squadron. He arrested a total of-"

"-seventy criminals and successfully planned twenty-eight undercover missions in his whole career." He looked at the teacher. "Now you know." Leon whirled to leave.

"Wait. Your mother."

"What about her?" Leon's fist clenched subconsciously.

"What was her-"

"She died long ago."

"My condole-"

"I don't need your sympathy."

"How did-"

"It's none of your business, so please, stop meddling with matters that you are not welcomed to discuss. Just because you're assigned to me doesn't mean that you have to infiltrate my life."

Sir Taiga had never been interrupted except by a teacher while he was still a student. As the memories of his high school days flashed in his mind, Taiga frowned and shoved sadness and regret away. His patience had piled over through the years and he still had plenty of it left, waiting to be used up on the boy in front of him.

"You don't have any money left. The house owner is asking for the five months rent you owe him. How are you going to pay him now since you've lost your job? If you don't pay it by the end of this week, he will-"

"-throw me out." Leon turned back and faced the teacher. "How did you know?"

Sir Taiga inhaled loudly through his nostrils. "It's none of your business," he copied snidely. "Now, are you-"

"Forget it." Leon threw his arm up. He barreled past the tall man and turned at the nearest corner. Sir Taiga smirked and watched his blighted student run down the stairs.

Yun-Hee crossed paths with Leon along the corridor of the second floor.

"...Is anything wrong?" the female questioned in worry, noticing that irritation and aggravation was plastered on Leon's face. Leon shook his head and strode past her. He took the stairs to the first floor and didn't utter a word.

Yun-Hee shelved into more worry. She wanted to run after him and comfort him, though her feet didn't obey as they were told. She settled with watching him leave. Leon was always so close to her before. But now, he felt so distant like a stranger whom she knew nothing of.

A brown-haired teen approached her from behind. "Yun-Hee."

She spun around. "Oh, Natalie."

"Do you know where Leon is?" Her face was blank, penetratively emotionless. It reminded her of Leon's similarly emotionless face.

Yun-Hee wanted to tell the truth, but she couldn't. Natalie was there to blame, but she couldn't blame her. She broke and gave in to a white lie. "...N-"

"Don't bother looking for him," Sir Taiga said as he came down from the stairs. "You won't find him."

The two girls glanced at each other.

XXX

A slab of marble rested on top of a mid-sloped hill. The wind's light breeze made the grass dance to the melancholy song of the rustling tree leaves. In front of the marble was a flat slate. A boy slowly stepped up to the slate and wiped the dust off of it. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the bitter peacefulness of the solemn place. He laid down a bouquet of flowers by the side, keeping one flower in hand, and knelt on his left knee.

"Father."

The wind blew quietly, ruffling his hair.

He sniffed and held back the remaining flood of grief that pounded on his self-control to come out. He clutched the grass in front of him and let his other knee fall perpendicular on the ground.

The silence was enough to turn the day into night. Dusk waned as the boy stayed still. He ended his reflection and watched as leaves were blown into the sky by the harsh, cold breeze.

"Just wait and see." The boy rose to his feet and closed his hands into fists of determination. "I'll make sure no one will ever look down on us again." The rose in his hand snapped by the stem. The thorns dripped with blood.


	10. Past Memories and New Experiences

**Author's Notes**: Listen to a sad song before you read this. Probably 'Ddoreureu' by Park Ji-Yeon. I couldn't grasp the sadness that I wanted to depict. Enjoy reading the eleventh chapter.

Episode 10

Past Memories and New Experiences

_March 4, Post-dismissal of the evening class, 10:51 PM_

Leon went out of the dormitory building, wearing a black fur jacket. He breathed deeply, looking up at the moon as it bathed the night with sheets of borrowed light. His feet led him as his mind became clouded with thoughts and worries. Trees towered above him as he went on a curved path. Listening to his own footsteps and the pleasant silence of the night, he drifted and sailed across the campus grounds. He looked up again at the sky, now more cheerfully. It was the same moon of when he was six years old. It was still beautifully pale, watching over him during cold nights like a loving parent. A flashback made its way in, and Leon found himself back to his younger self.

Only a thin blanket of woven cloth covered his young, frail body from the freezing temperature. Her mother was no longer there to comfort him like she used to, and his father was always at work, even after the sun had long set. Sitting on the porch, Leon stared up at the starless night sky. The moon glowed in the darkness and gave light to his small house. There was no electricity and he depended on moonlight, seeking it every night for its blessed presence. Normally, he would look at it for hours and hours until he would fall asleep. The harsh realization brought about by the scorching sun in the morning always challenged him to live the best way that he could, though he was poor and left all by himself.

The images of the past concluded, blurred in his mind. Leon spread a smile across his face, gazing up at the glowing crescent. "_I haven't thanked you after all these years, have I?_"

He smirked at himself and continued walking. "_Thank you._"

The peaceful silence was broken by singing. Leon recognized the song. A mellow ballad expressing loss and acceptance for unrequited love, he knew, that his mother used to sing to him whenever he was sad. The soft melody made his chest feel heavier increasingly the more times he heard it, though he would always feel better after listening to it.

Leon found the owner of the beautiful voice sitting on a swing, alone. He simply stood there, watching her as the song further crushed him with its deep weight of sadness. A photograph of his mother appeared in his mind as he listened to the song and the sweet yet sorrowful voice, almost breaking him into tears. Silently approaching from behind, he joined in during the chorus, but the girl suddenly stopped and turned around to look at him with a surprised and embarrassed expression.

"...Leon?"

He sat on the adjacent seat and slowly swung himself from front to back. The girl grew less tense and sat back down. Seconds of empty staring at the dark sky passed as neither of the two even glanced at each other.

"My mother used to sing that song to me every night."

"You know it too?" she asked.

He nodded. The girl let out a sigh.

"I wish my mother also did that to me," she said, her eyes expressing unfathomable emotions.

Curious and sympathetic, Leon looked at her. She caught his eyes with her own. She looked back down on the ground after, kicking her legs as the swing weakly pushed her back and forth.

"I...can't even remember what she looks like." Natalie graced him with her teary eyes streaming with self-pity.

"Miss Song..." She paused to clear her constricted throat. "Miss Song found me in front of her door one night." Her strangled words came out bitterly. "I...I don't know anything about my parents."

Leon took a deep breath. "My mother passed away when I was five. My father died not long after."

Surprised, the girl dropped her eyes on him. Brushing her hair away from her eyes, she wiped away a tear and sniffed. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I, too, am sorry."

The absence of sound gave them time to contain the feelings that had escaped. Instead, the weight of grief even worsened. Leon shook his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked at the one beside him.

"You should be grateful for your parents. Be thankful that you know who they are and feel the love they gave you while they still had the chance to."

Her words sank deep. He stared at his hand in idle thought and then lifted his head to the sky.

"You don't know how much...how much...how much it hurts knowing that you were abandoned. Thrown out, like a useless piece of trash." She paused to control herself. "I wish I could feel what it felt like being loved by my own parents. The comfort of their hugs. The care and love of their words." She stopped and quickly wiped a tear, shaking her head as she softly laughed at herself. "I...don't even know what my real name is." Natalie bit her lip, putting all effort to hold back the tears. She shattered, whimpering before she started crying again. Her tears were silent and she covered her mouth to soften her plaintive sobs.

"Don't cry."

Leon got up and hugged her head to his chest. She stopped crying and held fast to him. She looked up at him, her vision flooded by tears. He started singing the same song she had sung. Slowly, she joined during the second verse and tried to overcome sadness with the slightest hint of happiness and hope through singing. Leon closed his eyes and listened. The lovely orchestra of her voice, surpassing the beauty that of a piano, and the serene night brought calmness to his heart, blocking the erupting tears from coming out. Both of them sang the chorus and glanced at each other as the song lifted their sorrow up to the dark sky, to the glowing moon.

The lyrics repeated in their mind as they made their way back to the dormitory. Even when Natalie was already lying on her bed, she could still feel the warmth of the song enveloping her. She sang it one last time as Leon also did from his room. The two of them fell asleep, carried by the soft melody of their voices.

XXX

_Friday, March 5, Morning class, 7:37 AM._

"Group into pairs and discuss the formula of each figure drawn on the board. Answer the questions that follow." Sir Taiga finished using the board and stepped closer to the students. Leon and Natalie were both sleepy, while Yun-Hee and Mi-Young were staring at him. Taiga sighed. He walked and stopped in the middle of Leon and Natalie. He slammed his palms on their desks and woke them up. Natalie's eyes quickly shot open. Leon slowly recovered from his dream.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yes sir," they responded, only half-awake.

Taiga slammed his palms on their desks and spoke louder, "What did I say?"

"Group into pairs..." Natalie yawned.

Leon stretched back his shoulders. "...and discuss the formulas before answering the questions."

Taiga nodded, pointing at the both of them. "You and you. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee. Five minutes!"

"Five minutes?" all of them, including the student dubbed as 'The Academic Addict' a.k.a. Mi-Young, complained. Answering ten problems about area, perimeter, circumference and surface area within five minutes was overwhelming.

Taiga looked at his watch. "Four minutes and fifty-seven seconds."

The students threw their books open and copied the questions on the board to their papers. Leon and Natalie worked separately, one writing the questions while the other one listed down the formulas. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee did everything together. The pair exercised teamwork and shared their thoughts about the answers to the questions they had to answer. Sir Taiga watched the special class develop into a group of true students. One day, they would surely prove to be the best students Korea would have.

"Done!" Natalie said triumphantly, waving the sheet of paper above her head with a whole minute to spare. Leon smirked at her enthusiasm. Sir Taiga took their answer sheet and waited for the other pair, which finished not long after. A brief discussion followed, focusing on the reason why Taiga had made them work as a pair, and not individually.

"Studying as a group will also help in digging deeper and understanding your lessons better. Interaction nurtures learning. Remember that. Don't restrain yourself from asking questions. The more questions you ask, the better. It only means that you really are preparing for the nationals, and you want to improve yourself and learn as much as you can."

"Yes sir!" The four smiled at each other. For once, they enjoyed being in school, specifically studying. They arranged their chairs into a circle and discussed their lesson together. Everyone was in a good mood. Sir Taiga temporarily left them since it was time for lunch break. An hour later, he came back and found the students still glued to their seats, helping each other learn more and correct past mistakes. Taiga smirked, feeling their determination through the continuous flipping of pages and moving of pencils.

"Are you not going to have lunch?" he asked, stepping inside the room. The students didn't seem to hear him. They were too focused on their books.

Yun-Hee tapped her pencil on her desk. "What's 0.08 again?"

"2/25," everyone supplied.

They timed themselves as to how fast they could answer the exam. One minute was provided per question. Mi-Young was the first to finish. She checked her watch. Four minutes to spare. The rest finished within the next minute, Leon being the last. Then, they checked their answers and compared mistakes. Each of them learned from each other, including Mi-Young herself. Their excitement came to a halt when they noticed Sir Taiga watching them by the door.

"Your lunch break is over."

Natalie glanced at her pink watch. She hung her head down. Their lunch break _was_ over.

"Go."

"What?" Natalie couldn't help but ask.

"Go and eat."

"I thought this was another overtime," Yun-Hee said, dropping her pencil into her pencil case. She stretched her aching back as the others also stopped. "Lunch break?"

Sir Taiga nodded. "Lunch break. Be back by one."

The four students stood from their chairs and left the room. "Ne!" they shouted into the corridor as they left the classroom. Natalie ate her lunch with Leon, leaving Yun-Hee alone to herself. She sighed and prayed for the food she had bought. She played with the strips of grilled chicken, turning them over and back. An unexpected visitor tapped her on the back to stop her from making toys out of her food.

"Oh, Mi-Young?" Yun-Hee rubbed her eyes, surprised.

"Is that chair taken?"

"N-No, please, sit." Yun-Hee smiled at the valedictorian, who amazingly replied with a smile of her own. Mi-Young placed her tray on the table and sat down elegantly with her legs crossed. She noticed that Mi-Young also had very appealing features. She had never seen Mi-Young's face so close with make-up and without her red eyeglasses before. A tinge of jealousy guided her into staring.

"Do you want some?" Mi-Young offered, showing Yun-Hee her food.

Yun-Hee took a small piece of pork and gave Mi-Young an equivalent part of chicken. They ate and enjoyed the luxury of their free time. Yun-Hee bowed her head down in apology out of a sudden, surprising Mi-Young.

"I'm sorry I misjudged you. I thought you were-"

"Selfish? Boastful? Unfriendly? Overbearingly self-important?" Mi-Young smirked, tilting her head downwards in mock thought.

"Yeah," Yun-Hee muttered shamefully. "Sorry."

"Anikka," Mi-Young said, shaking her head. "It's fine. I get that a lot."

The two girls sharing a new bond of friendship smiled and shared their food with each other, talking more openly.

On the other hand, Natalie entertained herself by watching Leon. She was done eating her lunch and all that was left was to wait for him to finish. Leon emptied the containers and repacked them before returning them to Natalie. She placed her and his lunch box inside a small bag.

"Can I borrow your cellphone?"

"I don't have one."

Her eyes widened. "You don't?"

"I don't have the money for it."

Natalie's face fell in disappointment. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

She puffed her cheeks out. "Bummer."

"What?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing."

Mi-Young called them from the other table. "Three minutes."

Leon and Natalie left their table and joined the two. They marched back to their classroom with enough energy to last for another couple of hours. Sir Taiga welcomed them in and supervised them as they immersed themselves into another session of arduous studying.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I wish we were this hard-working when it comes to studying. How I wish. My dream is to inspire my fellow students to be true students that love learning and are hungry for knowledge with the use of this novel slash drama slash fiction piece. I want to make them into true students. True students that take each fall and failure as a learning experience, to correct future mistakes. Whenever in doubt, trust in yourself and try harder. A person never really fails, because failure is only a part of success.


	11. Oops?

**Author's Notes**: Wow. Twelfth episode. This is gonna be quite long. Seriously. Like seriously seriously.

Episode 11

Oops?

_March 6, Saturday, 6:17AM_

Flipping over a disfigured carton, Leon covered his nose and mouth as dust particles flew everywhere. Three days of his absence utterly destroyed his house and made it a mess. Cockroaches fled in random directions to escape the wrath of his foot as he walked around, picking up valuables and placing them inside a box. Leon decided to pack his things and transfer them to the dormitory. He still needed a way to pay the five-month overdue rent, but that could wait until later.

So far, he had collected his clothes and personal items. The rest were junk. It wasn't easy living alone in a house, being a boy, carrying the responsibility to clean it alone. Though it was small and had only one floor, its hard-to-reach corners and various rooms made it difficult to maintain. The paint of the walls were now deteriorated and the wood furnishes were rotting. He had no money to replace them, and he knew he never will.

Leon threw the useless things aside.

"_A broken CD._"

Rummage. Rummage.

"_Another shattered plate._"

Search. Flip. Search.

"_Tweezers?_" Leon turned it over, looking at both sides. He responsively flicked it away when he saw a disgusting strand of hair still attached to it. He didn't bother finding out what kind of hair it was, whether it was head hair, arm hair, leg hair, back hair, armpit hair, pub-...never mind.

He then stumbled across something that caught his attention. A black jewelry box was hiding under the staircase. The small lock on the front was already forced open. Leon brushed the dust off of it and opened the chest. He took the silver necklace inside the box between his fingers. Beneath the necklace was a picture. A family picture. He was swept with nostalgia just by glimpsing at the old photograph.

Leon safely secured the necklace with a silver heart in his pocket. He griped the laminated picture with four fingers. Hand shaking, he tore the part where his mother's face was. He then crumpled it and discarded it like some sort of trash.

His mood changed like litmus paper drenched in acid. He kicked chairs that blocked his path. The pieces of glass from shattered kitchenware crunched as his heavy footsteps engraved them into the floor. He blasted through the door, dragging the box behind him. He walked down from his house to the sidewalk and disappeared into the crowd.

XXX

Ring.

"_Five more minutes."_

Ring.

"_Just five more minutes._"

Ring.

Natalie sighed and threw herself off the bed. Grumpy and deprived of beauty sleep, she almost ripped the telephone cord, answering the call.

"Natalie Song speaking." She had a heavy stress on each word she spoke.

"Good morning, heavy sleeper," Miss Song greeted cheerfully.

Natalie blinked, trying to get rid of her irritation and lethargy. "Mom?"

"Come to the cafeteria for some breakfast, okay?"

"Ne." Natalie put down the phone and prepared herself for the day, starting with taking a shower.

Meanwhile, Leon finished unpacking and sorting his belongings inside his room. He sat on his bed, shoving the box under it. The day was perfect for an outdoor activity. The sun was up and the temperature wasn't that cold. Bored, he got up and walked around in circles, desperate to think of something. The phone rang and disconnected him from the web of thoughts in his mind. He picked the phone up.

"Leonhart Chatelier." He sounded professional.

"Good morning, Leon. Breakfast is served, so come to the cafeteria before it gets cold."

"Will do."

"Could you go and call Natalie? I want to make sure she didn't fall asleep again."

Leon grunted a 'yes' and Miss Song ended the call.

Leon went to Natalie's room. He glanced at his watch again as he locked his room. It was past seven, so he thought that Natalie should be awake. He stood in front of Room 1004 and knocked.

No response.

He turned the knob. Surprisingly, it was open.

Breathing deeply, he pushed the door. He felt his heart beat faster, nervous, though he didn't why he should be. A tiny voice at the back of his mind screamed at him not to go in. To no avail, he didn't hear it.

At the exact time he entered Natalie's room, the shower clunked to a stop and the bathroom door opened. Steam and warm air wafted into the room as a girl came into vision.

Natalie stepped out of the bathroom.

Leon's mind went blank.

Her light-toned flesh was flushed and her wet hair was sticking to her skin. All he could do was stare.

Their eyes met.

"_Oh_."

Her eyes widened.

"_My_."

She lost grip of her towel. "_God!_"

"P-P-PERVERT!"

XXX

"What's taking them so long?" Miss Song pondered over her bowl of Gyudon. Yun-Hee spoke through the grumbling of her stomach. Mi-Young solidly gazed at her own bowl, moving her hand in the air as if solving a mathematical equation.

Students and cafeteria personnel alike jumped from their seats when a male student bursted into the canteen. He almost broke the glass doors as he pushed them in. He scurried over to Miss Song's table, stumbling over chairs and people. His hair was pulled in all the wrong places and his bloodshot eyes were having spasms. The two girls avoided the scary student as he hid behind Miss Song, clutching at her uniform like a frightened child.

Another student entered the canteen. Her jaw was tightly closed, gritting teeth contained within. Leon trembled as she came to the table.

"Natalie? W-What happened?" Miss Song had no idea what was going on.

Natalie grabbed Leon by his hair and pulled him to the other end of the table. He knelt on both knees and raised his arms in surrender. Yun-Hee envisioned Natalie wielding a whip and Leon being held captive by chains.

"Don't you even knock before you enter someone's room?" she said furiously yet quietly so only he could hear.

He did, but saying that now wouldn't change anything.

She grated her teeth together and took a seat.

"Is anything wrong?" Miss Song asked again, seeing the obvious redness that wasn't make-up on Natalie's cheeks.

She shook her head violently and stared at the table, hiding her eyes beneath her long fringes. Leon soon followed. A distinct air of embarrassment trailed behind him as he took the seat farthest from Natalie. Everyone noticed it, along with the sore palm mark on his left cheek. Miss Song and the two early students glanced from Natalie to Leon.

Yun-Hee laid her hand on the palm mark on his cheek. "You look like a hurricane hit you." Leon brushed her hand away and fixed his hair with his hand as a comb.

"...What happened?" the teacher, leaning closer to Leon, asked in a whisper.

He shook his head in denial. "Nothing," he whispered back.

"_Nothing_? _That's the crappiest lie I've ever heard._" Miss Song got up from her chair. "If nothing's wrong," she said, now speaking aloud. "You sit next to her. You're friends right?" She pulled Leon all the way over to exchange seats. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee were watching them, curious as to why there was an awkward tension between the two.

Natalie slowly brought her head up to give Leon a look that she reserved specially for really disgusting pieces of garbage. "_Pervert._"

Harnessing eye contact, Leon sighed and reasoned out with his eyes. "_It was an accident._"

"_Excuses._"

"_It was. I swear._"

"_Whatever._"

Miss Song prayed for their breakfast and everyone started eating, except Natalie. She was at a loss for words and action. Her conflicting emotions combined into a blank expression. She was mortified, upset and disconcerted. She was heavily affected that it was Leon who saw her; if it was another male, she probably would care less, which, in turn, made her slap herself for thinking something so retarded. Leon was drinking water when he saw her slap herself. She glanced at him. He choked.

"What the heck is wrong with the both of you?" Mount Miss Song erupted.

"It was an accident," Leon stated with a believable depth in his voice.

"What was?"

His own mind was torturing him with images of what he had seen earlier that morning. Blurring out a thought was never a hard task for him. But at that moment, he was struggling to stop his mind's eye from seeing her wet, flawless, smooth skin and long brown hair.

Leon took a deep breath, ready for an impromptu confession. "I saw Nata-mmfhm!"

Natalie taped her hand on Leon's mouth for the sake of her dignity.

"He didn't see anything!"

Miss Song dropped her glass. It shattered into a million pieces.

Natalie briskly slapped her other hand on her mouth. She shouldn't have said that. Then again, she shouldn't have done that either.

"See what?" Yun-Hee added another question. Their gazes squeezed the answer out of Natalie like a dried lemon.

"Breakfast time is over, we're gonna be late for class!" Natalie blurted out randomly. She stood up in such a hurry that she hit the table. She passed by Leon's side and 'accidentally' hit the back of his head with her bag, sending Leon's face right into his breakfast. Miss Song seconded the motion, saving both of her students from shame. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee grumbled as Miss Song ushered the four of them to the main school building.

Although it was in fact a Saturday, the special class still had a morning session. The afternoon, however, was free for them to spend. Sir Taiga was discussing about parabolas and ellipses, and Leon couldn't take it anymore.

"These curves..."

Leon gripped on his desk, unable to focus on the lesson. "_Concentrate._" He was being bombarded with unwanted images of Natalie. Images that involved curves. Her smooth arms and legs, her flushed skin, everything. Desperate to stop his dirty mind from intoxicating him further, he clenched his fist and hit his wound.

"Urgh." Leon flinched from the pain.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Chatelier?" Sir Taiga asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Leon was sure he saw Natalie's concerned face.

"No, go on." He sat straight and fixed his eyes on the board. "_Concentrate._"

"...determine an exact angle. The symmetry of the curves..."

His mind indeed concentrated. Not on the lesson, but on the other object of attention. The images suddenly improved into 1020 pixel HD pictures. He could smell the blood in his nose.

"If you observe these curves closely, you'll see that-"

The blood gushed out, disrupting the lecture. Sir Taiga stopped and everyone looked at Leon. "I think you've seen too much curves, Mr. Chatelier."

"Yes, I have." He wiped his nose with a clean handkerchief. "Perfect curves, in fact."

Natalie blushed from his statement, and when he glanced at her, she quickly looked away, her brown hair swaying to cover her face.

"Will you go to the clinic?"

"No. All is fine." His head felt unusually lighter after the loss of blood, which was rather too much for a nosebleed. "_Except the semi-pornography my mind is providing me without my consent._"

Sir Taiga pointed at the writings on the board with a short piece of chalk. "One last activity before I dismiss you. Usual pairings, ten minutes. Go."

Mi-Young and Yun-Hee did their routine. Leon moved his seat closer to Natalie as well. She nudged him slightly, his proximity too close for her taste. As Natalie wrote down the questions, she couldn't help but to feel exposed even though her clothes were complete. Only her face, neck and a small part of her thighs were to be seen.

Natalie felt a pair of eyes on her. She turned, catching Leon seemingly looking down her collar, and slapped him on the arm. He was just looking at her from the corner of his eye and Natalie's suspicion of him made it appear otherwise.

"Stop staring, you pervert!"

"I was not staring!"

"Yes, you were!"

"No, I was not!"

In the nine years they had spent as close friends, it was the first time Yun-Hee heard Leon shout. The classroom was silenced once again by the two. Sir Taiga approached them. "You two lovebirds stop staring at each other and finish the activity. Your time is running out."

Leon sighed when he saw Natalie lay a hand over her collar to close it. She carefully watched where his eyes where focused while she did the activity.

"Keep your eyes to yourself."

"I'd rather look at a hippopotamus than lay an eye on you."

"What?"

Sir Taiga almost whipped Leon's hand with his stick. "Stop it."

Leon sighed. In the end, the pair achieved a jaw-dropping, record-breaking, history-making score of one out of ten questions correct.

Sir Taiga requested to see them after the class. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee intentionally oversaw the conversation through the classroom's glass windows.

"One out of ten. Unbelievable." Sir Taiga tore their paper and threw it to the trash can. "Would one of you explain why this happened?"

Leon took a bold step forward and held out a protective hand in front of Natalie. "It was my fault. I gave her the wrong answers." It was an obvious lie, but Taiga took it anyway.

Leon sensed his hand come in touch with something. Something delicate, warm and soft. He glanced to his side. His hand was on her thigh. He traced the skin up to her skirt, up her blouse, then to her face, which was flaming red and turned at his direction.

"You s-sick...P-PERVERT!"

Leon ran for his life. And tripped.

He jumped out of the classroom window instead of using the time-wasting door. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee ducked to save themselves from being beheaded by Leon's shoes. They ran downstairs to avoid being caught eavesdropping as Natalie went after Leon.

"It was an accident!" Leon screamed as Natalie came running behind him like a stampede of oxen.

The two pairs met on the ground floor. Leon took refuge behind Yun-Hee.

"Hey guys, we should go out today," Yun-Hee suggested. Natalie stopped in front of her, anger drained by the friendliness in her eyes.

"No, thank you." Leon strode past Natalie in full caution and proceeded to the dormitory. The ratio of his gender to theirs was absurd and granted the circumstances, he would only end up being out of place. Also, he had forgotten about his responsibility over Natalie.

"Destination?" Mi-Young asked as soon as the male was out of sight.

Smiling, Yun-Hee told them, "I know the right place to go to." Natalie and Yun-Hee returned to their rooms to get their purses and jackets. The three of them then ventured forth into the cold streets.

Seoul was the center of commerce in South Korea, and because of this, there were many shopping areas to chose from. With Miss Song's permission, the three girls traveled to Myeongdong, a place in downtown Seoul which embodied several stores and fashion boutiques. International brand stores were lined up, their colored signs and showcased products attracting a huge amount of local and foreign customers everyday, whether day or night.

Looking around, their eyes proved that the Seoul was exceptionally modern. Light stone bricks covered the pathways in contrast to the streets' paved asphalt concrete. Leafless fifteen-foot trees gave the city an open-spaced feeling as buildings of contemporary architecture rose like mountains in the background, towering above them like walls.

Natalie, Yun-Hee and Mi-Young started walking. Their aim was to cover the long curvilinear path and all of its stores in one afternoon. There was an endless parade of various stalls and shops and they didn't know where to start.

"Let's eat first," Yun-Hee proposed. The two agreed. They ordered Ramen at the nearest noodle shop. They were seated in a short line, elbows rested on the high counter. Natalie asked the store owner for a small saucer. She scooped out the oil bubbles and fat from her Ramen and into the saucer. Meanwhile, Yun-Hee and Mi-Young gave conversation more importance over food.

"Hey, Natalie?" Yun-Hee called, noticing Natalie's value of her health and physical state.

Natalie titled her head to Yun-Hee's direction.

"What exactly happened?"

"With what?"

"You know, with you and Leon earlier."

Yun-Hee and Mi-Young slowly closed in their faces to Natalie's.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell anyone about it," Natalie thought aloud. She looked to her right. Yun-Hee's face blocked her entire view. She looked to the left and saw Mi-Young staring at her. "Please seat properly. It's disturbing."

The two girls obliged. Yun-Hee finished her bowl in a second. "Come on. Share it."

Natalie shifted her weight on the chair. "Well..."

"You can tell us everything. We're friends, right?" Yun-Hee smiled at her.

"Friends?" Natalie thought, eyes fixed on the floating shank of beef in her bowl.

"Yeah, friends. Well, I'm not sure about Mi-Young but the two of us are, right?"

Mi-Young was already accustomed to offending yet humor-intentional jokes. Yun-Hee gave her an apologetic glance which she replied with a knowing nod.

Slouching, Natalie dropped her chopsticks and hung her head. "I don't think I can look at him straight in the eye ever again."

"Why?" Mi-Young joined in the conversation.

"He..."

"He...?" The suspense was torturing Yun-Hee. Mi-Young had her back straight and was still eating her Ramen, not showing the slightest hint of interest.

"He..."

"He...?"

"..." Natalie brought her head further down.

Yun-Hee bumped her fist on her own head. "What?"

"He saw me right when I left the shower."

Mi-Young pleasantly showered the contents of her mouth onto the face of the store owner, who had his mouth open, unfortunately. "He _what_?"

The two girls were petrified. Nobody, even Mi-Young herself, expected that she could lose her cool and poise in public.

Cheeks darkening with the deepest crimson, Natalie hid her face beneath a clump of hair.

"He saw you? In the bathr-"

Natalie quickly placed a finger on Yun-Hee's lips. "Shh! Not too loud." Some other customers were already looking at them suspiciously for the noise they were creating.

Mi-Young set her elbow on the counter and spun on the stool to face Natalie. "He saw you completely? With nothing whatsoever?"

"O-Of course not!" Natalie's whole face burned red like a tomato. She sheepishly bowed her head. "A towel," she muttered with the quietest voice she could use.

Mi-Young wiped her glasses clean and wore them again. "It's no big deal."

"No big deal? Are you kidding?" Yun-Hee thought about Mi-Young's response and guessed that she would have been comfortable if she was in Natalie's position. A bit _too_ comfortable, in fact.

Mi-Young adjusted her glasses and flicked her hair, fixing it without the use of her hands. Yun-Hee scrutinized her from top to bottom. She looked like the type who had the appeal and the natural habit of seducing boys. Mi-Young spun back on her stool and stretched her back sensually in an arch, running her hand down her neck to dry some of the soup that was spilled on her blazer. Yup, Yun-Hee's theory was correct. She ordered another cup of tea to distract herself before she could imagine what Mi-Young could do to the poor, oblivious and insensitive Leon.

Yun-Hee met Natalie's worried face. "It's a really big deal."

"A really big deal?" Natalie's voice was shaking.

"I-I don't mean to make you feel worse. But...how can you get married after that?"

It rang a bell inside Mi-Young's head. "Only your husband is supposed to have the right to see you...and Leon stole it from him, whoever that 'he' would be."

Natalie digested the words slowly. "Is that true?"

Yun-Hee and Mi-Young nodded. "What would your husband feel if he finds out that-"

Natalie buried her face into her hands. "What am I going to do now?" she interrupted, exhaling hopelessly.

"See him naked too."

Yun-Hee slapped Mi-Young on the side of the head. Weakly, of course. Nobody would dare hit the valedictorian.

"I think it would be a great idea," Mi-Young added, earning another slap on the head.

"It depends." Yun-Hee emptied her cup. "Are you angry or embarrassed?"

"I'm confused."

Yun-Hee folded her arms. "That's not included as a choice."

"There is a simple solution to solve your little dilemma. Just marry him," Mi-Young joked casually.

Natalie's face slipped off her hands and fell on the countertop, causing a loud thump.

"Is she pregnant?" The store owner noticed his customer's frustration. "I have birth control pills."

Natalie barely controlled herself from throwing the Ramen bowl at the man. Barely. She propped her chin on the counter, her hair messy, and glared at the owner. "You're not even supposed to be in this conversation."

"But, I have some birth contro-"

"No, thank you."

"Birth pill-"

"No."

"I'll give them to you for free."

Natalie got up and left, followed by the two other girls. The store owner looked at the small plastic container. He shrugged and popped a few into his mouth.

"Chewables. Not bad."

The three females spotted their first shop and walked right in. Stylish dresses of the latest fashion trends welcomed them as they entered through the glass doors. Gold light made the clothes sparkle and friendly clerks allowed them to feel comfortable while looking around for any garment that interested them.

"So, are you angry or embarrassed? Just chose one," Yun-Hee's voice came out from the left dressing room. Natalie, occupying the middle one, answered, "Angerbarrassed?" Mi-Young smirked at Natalie's attempt at creating a new word.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what you feel."

Natalie sighed. "...Embarrassed. It was an accident, how can I be angry?"

"You sure showed him that you wanted to wrench his eyes out. Even we could feel it during breakfast and class time, right Mi-Young? You seemed so..." Yun-Hee couldn't find the right word to complete her statement.

"Agitated? Furious? Pissed?" Mi-Young supplied.

Yun-Hee laughed at the last word while forcing her head into a hole of a shirt. "I didn't know you also used informal words."

"Don't overestimate me too much. A little bit is fine though."

Natalie continued, "I was acting on reflex. Would you like it if you were in my shoes?"

"Maybe," Mi-Young replied before Yun-Hee could even say an automatic 'no'. Yun-Hee was sure Mi-Young was a temptress. Natalie pretended she didn't hear anything on the fear of explicit imagination.

The three girls gathered the curtains and stepped out all at the same time. Yun-Hee was in nothing special. She didn't favor clothes much. Mi-Young's choice was a black sleeveless vest paired with long dark pants buckled with a wide belt studded with shiny stones. They complimented each other with nods and turned to Natalie.

"Wow."

Natalie wore a flashy dark top that was adorned with studded straps all across the front, the collar zipped with metallic silver. The top was a bit short, exposing her flat lower abdomen and navel, and to highlight the two tightly cinched belts fastened to her gray denims. Boots with silver and black linings went with her pants. On her left forearm was a fingerless glove, while on the other was a short white glove. Her pink watch had been replaced with a dirty white one to fit her outfit. Lastly, a crimson, black dyed fur jacket with patterned square holes hung from her shoulders to her lower back like a large scarf.

Yun-Hee stared. "Your fashion sense is unbelievable."

Natalie half-frowned and scanned herself. "Does it look that terrible?"

"Terrible? It's so good that I envy you," Yun-Hee corrected, walking around Natalie to inspect her 360 degrees. "You look like one of those girls from a Korean girl group. If you could only sing and dance well, you'd certainly pass in an audition."

Natalie etched the last sentence into her mind.

Yun-Hee pointed a commanding finger at her. "Pose."

"What?"

"Try and pose. A cute expression or something."

Natalie titled her body to the left and put one hand on her hip, showing the other side of her that packed a strong attitude. Yun-Hee giggled excitedly. Natalie was definitely girl group material.

"Buy everything," Mi-Young stated, going back into her dressing room.

Yun-Hee did the same. "She's right, you should. You look ravishing."

Natalie went inside her dressing room and took the time to look at her reflection on the mirror. She smiled and started changing into her school uniform. She had never been complimented for her physical appearance before, but not because she wasn't pretty. Saying that fifteen boys had crushes on Natalie was a bizarre understatement. All of the boys didn't have the guts to tell her up front. Her mere presence makes them nervous and feel self-conscious like crazy, though no one had ever told her that, resulting to her low self-esteem. Who wouldn't feel bad when students of the opposite gender literally run away whenever you came near? Well, I sure wouldn't.

Picked clothes in hand, they went to the counter to pay. Yun-Hee didn't buy anything. She waited for them outside of the store. Mi-Young took out a rolled bill from her purse. The cashier gave her the change and a white plastic containing the clothes.

"Hurry up, Natalie. We still have other shops to go to!" Yun-Hee hurried her friend, excitement getting the better of her.

Natalie carefully placed the complete outfit she had wore on the counter. She had some money to spare and a thirst for fashion, so she took their advice and decided to take them though they were expensive.

She opened her purse. Her fingers grew stiff.

She brought the wrong purse.

Suddenly, a stack of 10,000 Won bills were slammed on the counter. She looked up to see a familiar person. Trying to comprehend what was happening, she glanced at the person in front of her, then to her friends waiting outside, who had their staggered eyes at the money.

"What are you doing here?"


End file.
